Masks and Cops
by VampirePenguins
Summary: Letters-a strange thing they are. Especially when they are written by the person you least expect. And even when you do figure out how to decode them, you realize there's a lot more to it than just drama and endless mystery. In Jason's case, it could possibly lead to some unexpected romance as well. And to think-it had all started with the thief behind the letters. JASPER AU.
1. Prologue

**Hey, guys. Some of you are probably wondering where my other story "Expectations and Realizations" went. Well, I deleted it. But don't worry, "Hidden Memories" is still fresh and going! Anyways I got really inspired to make this fanfic because I watched a movie yesterday and I wanted to see if this would do any good. And plus, my school is off because of the snow so I'm sorta bored.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters**

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><p>They've been trying to catch him for days now.<p>

This guy was just too good. It seems to Jason that everywhere they know the thief is going to be there, he knows ahead of time and goes somewhere else. From just the past month, this guy had stolen from five banks, three malls, and one hotel. When this case first started out, Jason was positive this guy had been an amateur and didn't really worry that much. But now he realized he should have done something while he could have because now, there was no stopping this man.

Jason had ordered many people to go out and search for this thief while he focused on other "more important" crimes, as he used to call it. But now, he knew the consequences he was going through because of his foolish mistakes. He should have known the thief wasn't going to be _that_ dumb enough to not have a plan. Jason swore to never underestimate thieves again.

Now, as he was watching the news which showed _another _robbery by the man in another mall, he was determined to catch him. Or at least get a glance at what he looks like. Because what Jason knows about thieves, is that they _love _masks. Because they're cowards. If they were so confident enough to steal and rob knowing that a police was bound to catch them eventually, why would they wear masks? Jason doesn't quite get that, but isn't that what bothers cops so much about thieves? Their masks?

Seeing enough of the news, he fiercely shuts off the TV, grabs his coat and keys, and walks out the door. Once he's in his police car, he programs his GPS to the mall and slams the accelerator. Since he's a cop, he puts the flashing lights on and storms down the highway. Once he's reached the mall, he starts sending cops around the perimeter to surround the thief. He smiles. He thinks he's finally got him. It takes him two hours of searching to realize he's dead wrong. Again. For about the tenth time that month. He should really stop underestimating them.

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><p>Another robbery. Another, another, and another. Jason has had enough. All he wants to do is grab that robber by the neck and strangle him to death. Is that so much to ask for? What is the guy even doing with the money, anyways? Surely, he knows better than to do that? With that much money, he will definitely be drawing attention to himself wherever he is.<p>

Something interrupts him in his thoughts. A letter on his desk. From the thief itself.

He's been getting those for a while now. That's why he's more obsessed with this investigation than the rest of his crew. Because _he _gets the letters and not them. The letters tease him about how he _still _fails to catch the thief. He feels tormented and its driving him mad. But this one... it's different. It still teases him, but it challenges him. A challenge he's willing to accept.

_Dear idiot you call a cop,_

_You really want to find me that bad don't you? I'll tell you what. I'll make a deal with you. You say cops are the good guys and they always catch the thieves because cops are always one step ahead of the thieves. But you don't get it do you? Us thieves can walk straight by you and you won't even notice. And I know you don't think that way; you think you will notice. So I challenge you. Meet me at Central Park at 2 pm; that's my next my robbery plan. I will literally walk straight by you and you won't notice. If you notice in time, I'll let you take me to jail without hesitation. But if you don't, and you won't, you stop this silly charade you call "working" once and for all. Just drop it._

Jason has no other choice. He has to accept it. If he doesn't, he just might lose this case forever and he probably won't ever know who's the mastermind behind all this shit. But if he does, he just might lose his job. He doesn't care. This is only chance. He's going for it.

But this time, he's going to put on a mask of his own.

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><p><strong>So, what do you think? Is it good? Please tell me if I should continue or not.<strong>

**I like reviews by the way!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	2. Central Park

**Whoop! Chapter 2 on the go! I thought I was going to post this chapter next week, but I couldn't wait and I already wrote it so I was like, whatever. But the ones coming after this one will be weekly. So I decided this one is going to be in Piper's POV, so tell me if I did okay with her, alright? Right.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters.**

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><p>Piper smirks when she left her letter in his house and walks to her house. This is just too easy. The guy always underestimates her. He thought she was in the mall now, probably, but Piper never was. She planted a small bomb there to make it seem like she was robbing it, which she was but she would pick up the money later. She knows she's torturing him by breaking into his house and writing the letters. But it was just too much fun.<p>

Piper frowns all of a sudden. She feels bad for the guy, she really does. And honestly, though she would never admit this out loud, she thinks Jason Grace is really not a bad cop at all. She's seen him catch other criminals, ones that _she _even thought were experienced robbers. And if Piper wasn't silently dancing to her victory in her head, she'd probably hate doing what she does to the poor guy. Piper smiles again. No. What she thought was a complete lie, and she knows it. She doesn't feel an inch of pity for the stupid idiot.

For her "meeting" with the cop, she decides to put on her mask again. Not the ski mask that normal robbers would wear, but her own personal mask. And this time, she decides to be a singer off the street. Who just so happens to be at Central Park. At 2 in the afternoon.

She glances at the mirror once she's done changing her clothes, just to see what she looks like. Not that she actually cares, but if this is going to work properly, she has to look at least _decent. _While looking in the mirror, she is reminded of what her father told her when she was little. About how she looked so much like her mother. Piper's only seen one picture of her mother, but it's enough to know that her father was completely wrong. But once she started to grow up, she started to notice small resemblances. And she hates it. She wants to be treated normally, not like some daddy's princess that lives in a life-sized Barbie Doll house. She tries to downplay her looks, she's even tried cutting her hair randomly with safety scissors, but it wouldn't do much good, and as egotistic as she may seem, she hates to admit it. Then one day, she decides to use her "looks" as an advantage. And she never thought that day would come, considering that the cops _still _think she's not a girl, but now it has.

So Piper grabs her guitar and case, and she walks out the door.

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><p>Piper made sure to arrive at noon sharp, just to get situated before the so called "awarded for two years in a row for being the best cop" to arrive. She sings random songs that her Grandpa Tom used to sing on her guitar, and is honestly surprised when she sees actual dollars in her case. She thought her voice was horrible. Eventually came 2 pm, and she was shocked to see that her palms were sweating; she didn't think she would be this nervous to see him.<p>

And there he is. He walks around for a little while "subtly" trying to look at faces and it's obvious he's suspicious. Well to _her_ it is obvious, considering she knows who he's looking for. It's then when she realizes she's got a small crowd surrounding her again, obviously wanting to hear more from her since they apparently heard her other song she was singing.

So she does, and she hopes Jason will notice and come to her because she wants to fool him once again. It works. He looks at her and seems to get distracted by her voice for a while, then hesitantly walks toward her.

Once she's done singing and the people leave while placing cash in her guitar case, Jason starts to speak. "Hello."

Piper pretends she doesn't know him and replies questioningly, "Hi."

Then he looks away, probably now realizing how awkward the conversation has started and is about to walk away when Piper starts speaking. "You waiting for someone?"

That makes him suspicious, and he raises an eyebrow. "Yeah sort of... how did you know?"

Piper tries to suppress her smirk, succeeds, and pretends to look a little sheepish. "Well, you look a little lost..."

Jason's eyes soften and Piper tries her best to not roll her eyes. Leave it to him to think she's just a clueless little girl.

"Well, I am I guess." Then he glances around quickly around him and turns back to her with a sheepish smile of his own, "have you by any chance... noticed anything suspicious lately?"

Piper pretends to be suspicious and slightly annoyed and replies, "Nothing but you."

He shakes his head apologetically. "Sorry, it's just... never mind, don't worry about it. Just forget what I said."

"No, wait," Piper says and slowly leans towards him. "I think I may have seen something going on in there." She points towards the building next to her and almost smirks when she sees his eyebrows raise, catching the bait.

"Oh." And he starts to make a move towards the building, and Piper is about to smirk a job-well-done, when he looks back at her, "Are you coming?"

Well, that was unexpected. But Piper knew better than to say no to a _police man. _Especially one that's suspicious. Besides, Piper might even find some valuable piece of information from Jason. So Piper nods and follows him.

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><p>Piper smiles as Jason frowns at just how big the building is and how many people happen to be in it. After all the decisions she made, this building has got to be in the top ten.<p>

"So... what exactly did you see in here?"

Piper sighed inwardly. She had a feeling this was going to happen. Piper's smile had now turned into a frown, one that matched Jason's as she realized what she was going to do. Now thinking about it, why exactly did she pick this building? She should have recognized it as soon as she pointed it out. This was the building she hid most of her money in. There's no getting out of it now. "I think I saw someone enter that room over there," she points over to a room that says 'Managers Only'. "Someone that I've never seen here before, and I've been here a lot," she adds just in case.

Her and Jason walk towards the room, but are stopped by a security guard. "Excuse me, but you are not allowed in here."

Piper looks back at Jason as if to say, _Oh well_ but he puts his hand up in a gesture like, _I got this. _He takes out his Identification Card, as a police, and the guard's eyes go wide before letting them in reluctantly, and it's all Piper can do to not roll her eyes.

Once they're allowed in, Jason starts to search the room, but finds nothing. "Are you sure he went here?"

_How do you know it's a 'he'? _Piper thinks annoyingly, but she replies, "Yeah, I swear."

Jason's eyebrows furrow in confusion and continues to find the room. Piper also pretends to search the room with him, but "accidentally" trips on a latch. A latch that only she knows where. Jason's eyes go wide as he looks at it, and she pretends to match his expression as well.

Jason walks towards her and gently moves Piper aside. He somehow figures out Piper's secret combination, and that annoys her more because she thought no one could possibly find out, and he smiles when he finds the money in there. The money that Piper worked _so _hard to retrieve. Well, maybe not_ so_ hard. It was rather easy. But she couldn't pretend she wasn't sad to see it all go to waste like that.

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><p>Once outside again, Jason asks Piper to help move the money inside his trunk so he can carry it back with him to see if the thief left any clues in it. Piper does so, but she knows how pointless it's going to be. Piper is never one to leave clues behind, but Jason doesn't have to know that.<p>

After everything is packed in his car, he turns to me and puts his hand out. "My name is Jason by the way."

She stares at it for a while, but realizes that he still doesn't know her and she has to pretend to not know him as well before meeting her hand with his and giving it a slight shake. "I'm Piper."

Jason lets go of her hand and takes out a sheet of paper and scribbles something on it. He then puts the paper in her hand, but doesn't quite let go. "Maybe you should call me sometime." Then he realizes what he just said and his cheeks go red while he stutters back, "No, not like that. I mean as a friend. Or- if you want- I mean- nevermind- but seriously you should call, if you want. Because you helped me today. Thanks." He finishes awkwardly, while looking down.

Piper smirks for the first time that day because she loves how stupid he looks right now, but decides to play along. She leans in and kisses his cheek, while saying, "Yeah. I just might." Then she walks away, only glancing back one more time to see him still standing there with a small smile forming on his face.

When Piper gets back to her house, it's then that she realized what happened. She wrote in the letter, if he doesn't notice anything then he would quit his career. But he _did_ notice. Even if it wasn't the way he thought. And Piper basically just gave him a chance with the whole exposing-the-money thing.

Piper sighs as she writes her next letter to him, telling him that she'll give him another chance in the most teasing way possible. At least she'll get some information out of this.

_This mask thing is hard, _she realizes. And she's going to have to keep it on if she's going to be spending more time with Jason.

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><p><strong>...You like? I think I did okay. The next chapter is going to be in Jason's POV and it's going to keep going on like that (the POVs I mean). So the next chapter is going to be next Sunday so... review please :D<strong>

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	3. First Suspect

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>"Really nothing?" Jason asks again.<p>

Leo, another officer and friend of his, double checks the money and replies with a saddened face, "Not even a finger print or anything."

Jason puts his hands on his face in exasperation. This was about the fourth time they were searching the bag of money, and they were still getting no where.

"Who'd you say was with you when you retrieved this?"

Jason flinches. He's confused about that too. Who_ was_ that girl that helped him? "A girl named Piper."

"Oh, yeah. Did you call her to see if she knows anything?"

Jason shakes his head. "I gave her _my_ phone number; she didn't give me hers."

Leo turns to him and says in an obvious tone, "Well, look up her number."

"What- no! I'm a cop, not some creepy stalker!" He replies while starting to flush a little.

Leo turns away again, but not before Jason hears him mutter, "You never used to complain about doing it before," which left Jason deep in his thoughts.

That girl, Piper, seemed different. She seemed like a nice enough girl, and she didn't really hesitate to help him with his case. But she seemed new to that place, like she wasn't used to showing herself around, no matter how many times she claimed to come there all the time. She seemed so uncomfortable with singing even off the streets, especially when a crowd of people started to surround her. Jason couldn't blame them; she had a beautiful voice. It attracted even Jason, who normally doesn't get distracted easily, but that girl seemed to be _calling _to him. Sound weird? It did to him.

And she was not so bad in the looks department either. Okay, that was a lie. She was outstandingly gorgeous. She had Californian skin, was tall, and had long brown choppy hair. That's not what attracted Jason as much though. It was her eyes. They seemed to be changing rapidly: one second brown, the next green, and the next blue. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Jason shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about this kind of stuff; he barely even knew the girl. But that didn't stop him from thinking about her from time to time.

Leo looked back at him and whispers, "So... did you get any... letters in a while?"

Jason winced. He had forgotten Leo even knew about the letters. The letters were a really big part in Jason's life, and he was glad that his best friend knew about them. But sometimes, he really didn't _want_ Leo to know about them. It wasn't like he didn't trust Leo, it was more like he didn't want Leo to worry about his problems. That was one of the many problems Jason had. He doesn't like relying on other people to handle something for him. And he hated that flaw. "Uh, yeah, I did." And he explained the letter he got that day from the thief when he went to Central Park. He also explained the new letter he had got from the thief this morning.

_Dear "police man",_

_Didn't notice me did you? I'm quite surprised, honestly. It was obvious wasn't it? I felt like it was. Whatever. I'm a fair person, and a fair person has to stick to their word. So, you noticed me. You even got a little something out of it. My money. So I congratulate you. Good luck finding the rest. Anyways, I'll be nice this one time, and I'll let you keep your job. Your attempts amuse me very much. Thank you for that. I'll be seeing you around now for a while, but you won't be seeing me as always. At least, not clearly. Tell me when you come to your senses._

"Oh. So if it was so obvious, who do you think did it?" Leo asks after reading it.

Jason shrugs his shoulders, but before he could say anything else, his phone rang. Jason grabs it out of his pocket and reads the Caller ID. He looks at Leo in confusion and says, "It says 'Unknown'"

"Well, pick it up!"

Jason rolls his eyes, but reluctantly tapped 'Accept'. "Hello?"

"Hey. Is this Jason? It's Piper. You know, the girl from last week?"

Jason's eyes grew wide, and he looks at Leo and mouths, _It's Piper!_

Leo rolls his eyes and gestured to shut up and keep talking.

"Uh, yeah, I remember. Ummm, I've been meaning to ask you a question, but you didn't give me your phone number so..."

Piper gives Jason her phone number and she continues, "So, what did you want to ask me?"

And Jason describes his suspicions and Piper replies questioningly, "How do you know all of this? I mean like, how did you know that the thief was watching you the entire time?"

Jason swallows roughly; she can't know about the letters just yet and replies awkwardly, "I... have a feeling..." Leo sighs and Jason doesn't blame him. He's a terrible liar and everyone knows it.

"Okay... how about I meet you at the coffee shop? We can talk about this there."

"Alright. At noon?"

"See you there." was the last thing he heard before she hung up.

Jason continues to stare at his phone thoughtfully while Leo smirks. "What? Got a date already?"

Jason glared at him, but his ears were starting to tint red while he told him, "Shut up. It's not a date. We're just going to be meeting at the local coffee shop to talk about our case."

Leo raises his hands in surrender, but his wide smirk was still evident on his face. "Whatever you say, bro."

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><p>Jason has been waiting patiently for Piper to arrive. He was nervous, no doubt, but he was also anticipating a lot to come from the conversation they were going to have. It took him three calls of his name to finally realize that it was Piper who was calling him.<p>

"Jason?" Piper asks, "Jason. Hellllooo," she says while snapping her fingers in front of his face.

Jason's eyes dart up as they meet Piper's and he smiles while gesturing for her to take her seat, "Hi."

"Hey. You got me worried for a moment there. You looked like you were paralyzed." Piper states and Jason starts to chuckle.

Piper starts to frown again and Jason wonders why that is, but he asks instead, "So... do you have any suspicions? Like, about the... thing?". He tries to be quiet as possible just in case if they were being overheard.

Piper looks up, probably thinking about it and sips her coffee thoughtfully. "Hmmm... I don't know, Jason. It could be anybody," she pauses, sipping her coffee again, then continues, "Have you asked the security guard? The one that let us in in the first place?" Jason blankly looks at her, and she smirks. "I'll take that as a no, then."

But Jason was already in his own thoughts. "Yeah... the security guard..." He says quietly. Piper looks at him and seems to know what he's thinking because she frowns.

"You don't think..."

Jason gets up, without even drinking any of his coffee, and Piper stands up as well, knowing where this was going to lead to. "We have to go talk to him. He might know something. He might even..." Jason trails off, not wanting to finish that thought.

Piper just says, "Well, what are we still doing here? Let's go then." and they're on their way.

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><p>"I'll need to see your ID please." Jason says politely. The security guard looks confused, but Jason's too smart to fall for that.<p>

"Sir, I haven't done anything wrong." He states simply.

"I need to see you ID" Jason repeats, this time becoming a little impatient. The security guard shows it and Jason studies it carefully. The guy's name is apparently Frank Zhang and he's been in charge of this building only for a little while. "We just need to take you back for investigation."

"I told you, I've done nothing wrong."

"We're just taking you to investigation, nothing other than that. Unless, you have another reason." A new voice says and Jason and Piper turn around to see Leo there with his car.

Once they leave, Jason turns to Piper and says, "I don't believe him for a second. He's even the manager of this building! And the money was literally in the 'Manager's Office'"

Piper replies, "I know, right? Some people can be so annoying sometimes." Jason nods along with her.

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><p>Jason invites Piper to his house afterwards, and Jason starts to speak. "Thanks again, you know for everything."<p>

Piper looks at him for a while before replying, "No problem. But don't thank me just yet. Frank may be innocent after all."

Jason shrugs, but says, "If it's not him, then who else could it be? The only people who saw me take the bag inside my car and knew about the money was me, you, and Frank."

Piper shrugs also. Jason takes the moment to look at Piper again. Here she is, helping him for the second time. And even if she is right that Frank is innocent, Jason still can't say how grateful he is for Piper helping him, even if he barely knows her. He doesn't like that fact very much. Piper looks up at him, noticing that he's been staring at her and smiles. "What?" she asks.

"I love brownies."

Piper freezes. Then her eyebrows furrow in confusion, her smirk now turned into a frown. "What?"

"I love brownies," he repeats. "Now you're turn."

Piper just blinks at him before she smiles again, finally getting what he was trying to do. She shakes her head, but replies, "I'm a vegetarian."

Jason's smile grew wide, and they continue to play that game until Piper gets a phone call from her dad's assistant, Jane, about two hours later and has to go home. He walks her to the door of his house, but Piper doesn't quite leave yet and Jason doesn't really mind. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he's growing very fond of this girl that he just met last week, and finds himself hoping she feels the same way for reasons he does not know. He also finds himself not really caring in the end. His smile didn't leave the entire time she was here. "Well, I'll be leaving now, I guess," she says while reaching for the door knob.

Jason stops her hand with his hand, not really knowing what was coming out of his mouth until he said the damn words, "Will you go out with me?" He winced as soon as he said it. Why would she ever say yes? She probably has better things to do than... go out...

Turns out she didn't because the next thing she said surprised him so much, he thought he was gonna faint with confusion because there was _no way_ she said what he thought she said. "Yeah, sure, why not? I like cute boys." Then she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Again. For the second time in the past two weeks. Jason felt another blush rising in his cheeks._  
><em>

Then she winked and left without another word.

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><p><strong>Yeah... it might have been going a little too far in their relationship, but there's still more drama. After all, Jason only likes Piper because he doesn't know who she is yet. And who said Piper felt the same way?<strong>

**I love your reviews and I'm open to suggestions, if you want to give them.**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	4. Ironically

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>"Why are you late?"<p>

Piper rolls her eyes and snaps, "It wasn't anything. And besides, I wasn't _that _late."

"Just sit down," Jane replies, annoyed.

Piper sits down reluctantly. This has been her life for a month. Go out six am, return before 12 am. It's damn annoying, and Piper feels like throwing her chair straight across Jane's forehead. Who was she to tell her when to come home, huh? And boss her around like that? Not fair. But Piper knows she has to deal with it. If it helps her father, then she'll do anything.

"Have you gotten anything?"

Piper sighs before reaching in her pocket and pulling out something gold. It was Jason's coin he told her he had got from Greece, and he literally carries it around everywhere he goes. Weird. He calls it 'Ilvis' apparently.

"This is it?"

Piper puts her hand up in surrender. "Hey, I'm sorta tired today, alright? It would possibly help a little if you maybe gave me longer sleeping hours."

Even though Piper doesn't like to admit it, Jane does sort of control her. And what's even sadder is that Piper's letting her. But of course, if it wasn't for her situation at the moment, she wouldn't need to. Jane looks at her in a look of disgust. "You're going to have to do better, is all I'm saying."

Piper studies her for a moment. "What do you plan on doing with the money, anyways? The cops could catch you eventually."

"Well, we'll have to make sure they don't, now do we?" Jane glares at her, daring to suggest otherwise.

Piper only nods.

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><p>"It has to be you! You were the only one there when we went inside. You saw us take the money!" Jason says annoyed. They were in that weird room that Piper's only seen in TVs and movies and such. The Investigation room.<p>

"How do you know it was me, huh? Who knows it could have been your 'girlfriend' over there!" Franks says desperately. Piper almost felt bad for him. He really didn't do anything to deserve this. None of them do, honestly. If Piper could count the times Jane had blackmailed her into something she could't get out of on her hands, she'd have no more fingers to count on.

Jason looks at her for a while, and Piper feels a wave of panic. But it quickly goes away when Jason turns back to Frank with an indignant expression. "Don't you dare accuse people who you don't even know for something as serious as this!" Frank looks at Piper with an annoyed expression and she's pretty sure they're both thinking the same thing even if Frank doesn't know about her, _Oh the irony..._

"Look, whatever. Even if I did do it, you don't even have any proof! I mean really, the only possibilities it could be me, would be the same as you or Piper over there."

Jason considers this for a while before glaring at him again. "Come on, Piper, let's go," he says without looking at her. She hadn't seen him this serious since... well ever, really. Even when they were in Central Park, Jason wasn't like this. It brought an unsettling feeling in Piper's stomach. "I'm still watching you... we all are... just because your in jail doesn't mean you're safe."

And with that Jason closed the door, and Jason and her start to walk towards her house.

"Jason, I think he's right. It really might not be him... maybe you have a spy," Piper knew she shouldn't be doing this because things were working out perfectly now that Frank was in jail instead of her, but Piper couldn't get rid of that annoying guilt that was settling in her stomach. Since when was she like this? Normally she wouldn't care if she'd done this to anybody else... but something feels weird. And Piper doesn't like it.

Jason's silent for a while before looking at her. He raises his eyebrows in confusion before asking, "Are you talking to me?"

Piper rolls her eyes and points out, "Who else would I be talking to? No one else is here." Jason isn't paying attention to her again. "Jason what's wrong? Is something bothering you?" She asks even though she knows _exactly _what. It's the letters again. And it makes Piper annoyed that Jason doesn't trust her enough to tell her about them even though she knows he only knew her for more than a week. If Jane's idiotic plan is going to work, this needs to go faster. Jason isn't opening up, and Piper doesn't like that very much.

Jason looks at her again and shakes his head, smiling. "Nothing's wrong. Trust me. You were saying?"

"I was saying you might have a spy. I mean think about it, this person knows a _lot _about you. How could you not even consider this?"

"Of course I have. It's just... I don't know. I actually did bump up security a little bit, but it didn't do me any good. Because the next morning I got another-" Jason stops.

Piper raises her eyebrow, pretending to not know what he was going to say and asks, "Got another what?"

Jason shakes his head again and says, "It's nothing important, really." Then he still notices her questioning expression because he says to change the subject, "So we still on for tonight?"

It takes Piper a while to decipher what he was saying. Tonight? What was going on tonight again? Jason notices this because he says with a frown, "Tonight? You know... our... date?" He says the last part slowly as if questioning it, and Piper finally remembers.

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Sorry. I just- I guess I kinda... forgot... I've- sorry." Piper finishes and pretends to be apologetic when really, she doesn't care at all. Until she sees Jason look down with a barely noticeable frown.

"Yeah. I understand."

That awkward silence again. Piper almost lets out a breath of relief when they see her house in view. "Well... see you," she says awkwardly to Jason.

Jason looks at her and waves before saying, "See you tonight."

Then he's out of her sight when she shuts her door.

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><p>Piper's freaking out. She got a call from Jane (who's obviously not in the house), and she is so confused. Like, what the hell is going on? She's gotten so many missions from Jane. She's done robberies, illegal dealings (though she never takes drugs; she's only done trading), and so many other crimes, she can't even name them. But murder? Never.<p>

Why does Jane even want this anyway? What good is this going to come from her, huh? She really wants to call Jason and tell him to get his ass over to her house just so he can arrest Jane. But that would be a major giveaway, wouldn't it? All of the things she's done wrong... if Jason found out... boy, she wouldn't even want to _think _about it. She'd be _dead _no doubt!

Why was she following Jane around like a dog? Oh yeah... her dad. God, her dad. Piper hates herself for doing such a stupid thing that night. She should have known it was a set up. How could she have been so stupid? Damn that selfish Jane. Ever since that night, Piper swore she would get her father back one way or another. Maybe she could even deceive Jane like she did to her on the way there. Because if Jane could cover up her tracks so quickly, why couldn't she? She'd always loved the idea of thieves and their 'identity'. It amused her very much. But now... she wasn't so sure.

Before, she would go around teasing people of their clueless brains of theirs. She would just walk around, knowing that she didn't have to worry about a thing because she was playing two people: an experienced thief and a careless girl. Both completely stupid, now that she realizes it. Now, she's put so many people in danger for her sins... not that she cares. She's put Frank in an awkward position. Really, this should have nothing to do with him. It's not fair that he has to be in jail while Piper can't help but be amazing at wearing masks. And she put Jason in a confusing position too. She made him like her, although that hadn't been what she was really going for. If Jason found about Piper, he would not only have to arrest her, but he would probably be having a broken heart as well.

Oh well. Boo-hoo for him, and Piper rolls her eyes. Typical of boys to get distracted so easily.

Piper tries to shrug off the rest of her thoughts and gets ready for her 'date'. Since Piper didn't really care that much about this, she got ready pretty fast and was sitting on her couch watching TV. About half an hour later, she got a phone call from Jason telling her to meet her outside. Piper reluctantly got up from her soft couch and headed towards the door, but was stopped by Jane.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Piper shrugs, "I got a date."

"A date? This is not the time for _dating._" Jane says with a scowl.

Piper smirks; she knows what Jane's expression will be when she tells her she's got a date with Jason. The one who happens to be a cop with tons of information. And also happens to have _money._ "The guy's Jason."

Jane's eyebrow shoots up comically, and Piper bites down a laugh. "Think about what I said earlier," she says. It takes Piper to realize what she's talking about. Oh. Oh the _murder._ Piper sighs and shakes her head. She didn't like what Jane was trying to tell her at all. But her smirk came back again. If only Jane knew what was heading towards her.

"Be back before twelve," is all Jane says before she walks away.

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><p><strong>Sort of short, but it'll do. So next chapter... the date. Whoop! Just letting you know, I don't like writing this kinda stuff without any action in it... at least not in the middle of the story. But I still hope it's enough JASPER even if it is sort of one-sided right now.<strong>

**Tell me what you think and review please!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	5. Why In The Car?

****Warning: This chapter may include some sexual theme, but not much****

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p><em>Beep.<em>

Jason looks down to see another text from Leo. Jason unlocks his phone and the text blinks up and says, _Hey, bro, can I come to your place tonight? Calypso is making me watch the babies even though I told her that it was _her _day tonight. She said she would watch over them if I had something better to do._

Jason chuckles. Calypso has been Leo's wife for two years now, and they had boy triplets almost a year ago. He knows Leo loves the children, but ever since Calypso has been going back to work, Leo has been working his ass off his entire break from work trying to feed the babies, change their diapers, and do other stuff that makes Jason shudder. Gah- it must suck to have kids. But he's seen the way Leo smiles at the triplets and how his face brightens up when he sees Calypso come back from work... No matter how effin' tired Leo seems when he's with his children, Jason knows that Leo's really happy on the inside. Jason almost felt bad for ditching his best friend to go on a date with Piper. Almost. _Sorry, no can do man. I got a date._

Leo's reply came almost instantly. _Oooh, a date? Is it with that Piper chick? You're leaving me, your best bro for life, you're_ BBFL**(A/N: I'm not even sure if that's a real thing, but it seems right coming from Leo)**,_ for a girl you just met almost two weeks ago? I'm wounded, Jason, I really am._

He rolls his eyes while still smiling. Typical Leo. _Whatever, man, _he starts to type. He hears a clearing of a throat, and he looks up. It's Piper. God, it's Piper. She was wearing a blue dress (non-formal of course) with tights under it. She wore a snowboarding jacket on top of it, and black flats to go along with it. It wasn't much, but it made Jason's mouth water like crazy. Man, did he want some of that. Jason mentally shook his head abruptly. There are sometimes when he goes from a mature-30-year-old to acting like a stupid teenager. Of course Jason was only 23, but Leo sometimes said that he acts _way_ too old for his age.

Piper smiles an annoying brilliant smile that he's sort of been getting used to lately, and she asks, "You ready go?"

It takes Jason a while to realize that she's talking to her (because he's staring again) and he replies, "Yeah. You?" She just nods. Jason opens the passenger seat door for her, and she beams up at him. Jason himself has to try to wipe off that too-happy smile that is now forming on his face.

_Piper's here. Gotta go, _he finishes his text to Leo. He can practically_ see_ Leo's eye rolling at his eagerness to end the conversation with him and talk to Piper.

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><p>The restaurant, Jason thinks, is huge. He made sure to find a place where everything was top-class. It took him a while to find this place, and he hopes Piper doesn't mind too much. He doesn't worry about that too much, judging by the way she's looking around, awestruck. Jason holds Piper's hand lightly causing Piper to look down at their hands. Piper looks up and smiles at him, and for a while, all they are doing is just standing there, not even bothering to check in their reservations to the man in the front who's looking awfully impatient about the hold up. Piper glances back at the man, and she clears her throat again and points to the man. Jason looks up and checks them in.<p>

After they are seated down and receive their food, they start to talk. It's really only small talk until Piper looks down suddenly with a frown on her face. "What's wrong?" He asks, afraid it might be his own fault.

Piper lifts her face up and notices the concern on his face because she smiles. "It's nothing really. It's just..." And then she trails off. Jason hesitantly reached for her hand across the table and rubs (what he hopes to be) comforting circles on them.

"You can tell me, you know." But Jason felt a strange tugging in the bottom of his stomach. Why would she talk to him when he's been hiding stuff from her as well? The letters?

Piper's silent for a while as she eats her food, and Jason tries to find a way to take back what he said. But before any word could come out of Jason's mouth, Piper looked up a little from her food. "It's... my dad. He's just been... distant lately. And I feel like... Like I can't do anything about it. Jane -his assistant- is constantly trying to annoy the hell out of me, and she's wants... _something_ from me, probably because my father is a movie star and has money and oh, how I want to slap that face so hard and I'm just," she cuts herself off from her rambling before closing her eyes, sighing and opening them again, finishing quietly, "I'm just tired of all of it."

This time, it's Jason who's quiet as he tries to find some type of solution to this. He knows she isn't really telling him the full truth (he's confused about Jane and the whole situation with Piper's father), but that's okay; Jason hasn't been really open to her either, and it's no business of his to barge in her personal life. But Jason replies anyway, "Maybe you should talk to Jane. I mean she seems like a pretty ass-tastic," (a word he had gotten from Leo when he was complaining about his recent case), "assistant if you ask me, and I'm pretty sure if she wants something from you that badly, she'll listen to you," Jason smiles at Piper before continuing, "And plus, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt to slap her _once _in a while."

Piper blinks before her lips form into a small smile. Jason knows what he said probably didn't help much, but it made Piper smile so it's all good. And suddenly, Jason hears himself pouring out everything: the letters, his suspicions, everything. Because something about this moment just feels _right _and he doesn't want it to end. Because even though he's only known her for almost two weeks, he trusts her. He finds himself realizing: if Piper could tell him something important about her life, why couldn't he?

Then after going back to having a normal conversation and finding it easy to make the other laugh, they completely forget about their food and walk back towards the car.

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><p><strong>(AN: Um...cue awkward part)**

As soon as the door slams shut in the very back of his car after walking back from the restaurant hastily, Piper cups Jason's face and roughly brings his mouth to hers. Not that he minds. Because really, he can't seem to care about anything, except for the fact that Piper is straddling his waist and has one hand around Jason's neck and is running her hand through his hair. Her other hand finds its way under his shirt and she runs her hand up and down his chest as well and it's not healthy for the weird explosion of fireworks that's going on in his stomach.

_Man, her hands... _he thinks as he moans and starts to deepen the kiss with one of his hands also underneath the back of Piper's dress (remember she's wearing tights underneath) and is feeling her _incredibly_ soft, smooth skin.

Right now, he thinks, he's acting like a teenager again- far away from how he would normally act, but he really can't find it in himself to care at all. Especially not when Piper's doing things to his body that no other woman dared to do before. His other hand is also in Piper's hair, gripping it and holding her head close to his lips so that Piper won't even _think _about pulling away. He didn't even realize he was on top of her until Piper took off his shirt completely, and they were forced to break apart so the shirt could go over his head. And then they were back to making out.

When Piper finally pulled away, Jason starts to let his lips travel down her neck and up again, but then he realized that Piper abruptly froze. And he didn't think it had anything to do with the hickey that he had now placed on the base of her neck.

"What's wrong?" He asks breathlessly. And then he hears it. Two gun fires. Loud and clear. Jason quickly sits up, flustered, and slides his shirt back on. Was he seriously almost about to have sex? In a freaking car? How could he let himself be carried away like that? Why can't he act his own age for once- not like some mature snob and not like some annoying immature teenager? But even so, Jason couldn't pretend that he hadn't enjoyed it at all-and the fire that burned throughout his entire body, still burns and strangely, Jason likes it. He risks a glance at Piper to see her also fixing her dress.

Then they walk out of the car together.

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><p><strong>I know I hinted there was going to be drama in this chapter in my previous author's note last chapter, but there'll be action no doubt next chapter. Not to mention the very beginning of Jason's suspicions. Anyways, now we have some Jasper fluff. Still - sadly - only one-sided. But that fact will be changing soon (hopefully). Review please!<strong>

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	6. Breaking and Revelations

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>Piper almost sighs of annoyance. Those stupid gun shots. She knew exactly who they were from the moment the bullet was released. She told them not to annoy her any longer than they already had to. And now, they were about to get themselves busted for sure. <em>Serves them right... <em>Piper thinks.

As Jason and Piper slowly walks towards where they heard the sound, Piper can't help but think about what had happened before in the car. It was... really unexpected. She had no idea what the hell she was thinking when she did it. She knew part of the plan was to get Jason to like her... but even she had to admit that was going too far. Why exactly _had_ she kissed him like that? Everything was going perfectly fine before. Maybe because of the stupid advice he gave? Yeah, that was probably it. It couldn't be anything else, could it? Because even though she regrets it immensely, she doesn't really regret like she thought she would. Piper shakes her head. _Not the time to be thinking about this..._

They are now close enough that they could hear voices. And Piper's suspicions are confirmed.

"Give me your money," A few grunts are followed after that. As if the person is too weak to say much.

"No," the voice croaks. Shuffling is also heard. Piper looks at Jason looking intently at the direction of the sounds. It's really weird to see him so focused in what he is doing, and how much he actually cares about what he does. She really doesn't get Jason, she realizes. At least, not like how she gets other people. He's different than from what she's seen. She looks back at the direction of the voices.

"Give it to us," a new voice stutters. _Cal and Zethes, _Piper thinks as she remembers that Cal is the one who has the weird talking disorder, and he's really not that bad. At least, not as bad as his brother, Zethes. It's obvious Zethes tortures Cal, and Piper feels bad for him. Zethes is the one she despises, though. Zethes constantly tries to make a move on Piper, and she finds it disgusting. He's like thirty, isn't he? And besides, he's growing up to be a lot like Khione, his sister. Khione. Piper remembers the time when she used to hate her as well-even more than Zethes himself. She doesn't have to worry about Khione now, though. Khione's dead.

Jason makes a gesture to Piper, telling her to come with him as they walk a little closer to the voices. They are now able to see the faces. Two of them, of course, is Cal and Zethes, but the last face is one she does not recognize. The one that Zethes is threatening.

His face is bloody so she can't make out the features, but she assumes that he has dark hair and brown eyes that shows nothing but pure terror. "I swear... I don't... have any... mo-money..." every breath the man takes, seems to wear him out even more.

Zethes raises his gun and shoots the man dead before Jason or Piper could react at all. Piper takes a step forward (she doesn't know why, but she feels some unfamiliar defiance towards Zethes), but Jason holds her back. He mouths, _wait, _and it's all Piper can do to listen to him.

"Why did you do that?" Cal asks to Zethes.

"He was lying. Couldn't you tell? The clothes he was wearing... it was money written all over it," Zethes says with an eye roll. Call only replies with a shrug. It's been a while since Piper has seen their faces. Two whole years actually. And Piper didn't really mind not seeing them again. But they only show their faces when they have something they want or need. And why else would they be in California right now if they didn't want to talk to Piper? And she's pretty sure they didn't come here all the way from their mansion just to steal from a barely-even rich man.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know. The other woman... what was her name? Joan? Whatever her name is... she said to meet her tomorrow here," Zethes gestures around the area, "to talk to her about something. One of her plans. It has something to do with that weird police officer. You know, the one we hear from the news everyday? I think his name is Jason." Jason raises his eyebrows at this, but remains quiet. Piper almost screams out loud. The stupid oaf is giving out too much information about Jason and their plan... if he starts to mention Piper, she'll be ruined for sure. It's a good thing he forgot Jane's name. She hopes he'll forget hers too.

"Anyways, she said that a guy named Frank Zhang is currently locked up in jail. The thief's playing, I suppose," Zethes chuckles, and Piper almost wants to hug him for unknowingly referring her as the 'thief' instead of 'her', or 'Piper'. "It's almost a matter of time before that stupid police officer comes begging on his knees to us and realizes that Frank Zhang, _Frank Zhang, _the most nicest, most softest security guard I have ever met is not the thief." Cal nervously laughs as Zethes shakes his head, annoyed. Piper almost face-palmed. Major giveaway. _Thanks for having a fat-ass mouth,_ Piper wants to say to Zethes. Jason looks at Piper and points back where they came from, gesturing it's time to leave. She nods her head and follows him silently.

* * *

><p>Ever since they entered the car, it was silent. Until Jason audibly groaned. "It's all my fault," he exclaims.<p>

"What's your fault?" Piper asks even though she knows. He's guilty about accusing Frank of something that was entirely not his fault at all.

"Frank." He sighs, "I shouldn't have accused him like that."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Jason. You just followed your instincts. It seemed that he was guilty at the time, and it's perfectly understandable. The chances of it being him was very big, since he was the one who came with us inside of the room. It only seemed right that it was him."

"Yeah, well it's not," then he's quiet again for a while before he speaks, "I'm sorry, Piper."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. For tonight. For everything. I got you into this mess, and I'm going to get us out. I just..." then he swallows as if what he's going to say would probably hurt him, "I just need some time."

And it's not rocket science to figure out what he's trying to say. He's talking about them-as in both of them. And their somewhat weird 'relationship' crap. Piper nods, but then realizes he can't see her because he's driving and says, "Yeah. I understand." But she also feels somewhat disheartened. She doesn't mean to sound bratty and stuff, but she wasn't expecting him to say that. She thought he would still want her and everything like the other boys that Piper's dated (and stole from), but Jason... he's some puzzle that she just can't really figure out.

The rest of the ride to her house is silent. Once they reach her house, she exits the car, wanting to just sleep and forget about the weird feeling in her stomach, but Jason speaks again before she closes the door to the car. "Goodnight, Piper," he says without looking at her in the eye.

Surprisingly, it takes Piper a while to form the words in her mouth to say goodnight back.

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><p><strong>...Kay. So as you can see, Piper is starting to return Jason's feelings slowly. And yes, Jason and Piper are taking a break, but that will be explained in Jason's POV next chapter as well. Also his suspicions... it's getting closer is all I can tell you for right now.<strong>

******IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: I will not be updating next week like I usually do. I will be updating the following week because I have family coming over next week (so sorry!). Same thing goes for my other story Hidden Memories******

**Please review!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	7. Forgiveness

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>Jason looks down the entire time he was letting Frank Zhang out of his cell. He still couldn't believe what he had done. It was so stupid of him to accuse him like that. Jason guesses that he probably blamed Frank because he was too much of a wimp to figure out the entire case. But still... it seemed so <em>right <em>to blame him. It seemed... fitting. Now he sees that he was wrong. He would try not to make a mistake like that again. From now on, he was going think of all the other rational solutions before he jumps to a random one. "Sorry again," Jason mumbles to Frank.

And not to mention Jason's pride. He couldn't believe that _he_, a top-class police, was apologizing to a _prisoner. _Well, an accused one that is. Frank nods his head as if to say, _it's cool. Just don't do something like that again. _And Jason feels a rush of shame again. Finally, Frank decides to speak up, "What made you realize that I wasn't the thief?" He says bitterly._  
><em>

Jason looks down again before replying, "I came to my senses. Now... do you need a ride home? Where do you live exactly?"

"I don't need a ride home. I'll just take the bus." And even though Frank had gestured he forgave him, Jason knows he really didn't. And that brought the guilt back soaring in his stomach.

"No, really. It's part of my job to escort prisoners back to their home once they're finished being sentenced in jail. Especially a wrongly accused prisoner," Jason adds so Frank can get how much he is sorry for all this. "At least. If you don't want an escort, I should call your family," if he even had one.

Frank was quiet for a while before nodding slowly. "Alright. I'll give you my wife's number."

Jason walks quickly towards the phone so he could avoid the awkwardness between them. It didn't work. Either way, Frank gives Jason the phone number and he quickly dials it in. He hands the phone to Frank.

Jason is silent the entire time and when Frank hands him back the phone, Frank says, "She's coming to pick me up. She'll be here in about five minutes."

Jason nods and leads them out of the door, towards the lobby. The five minutes passed remarkably fast, and Frank's wife came exactly like she said she would. She enters the lobby and frantically looks around the room. Her entire face brightens up at the sight of them-well, Frank. She runs towards him and yells with a huge smile cracking across her face, "Frank!"

And he watches as Frank calls back and runs to her with the same look of happiness, "Hazel!" Him and-Hazel?- crash into each others arms and Frank swings the woman around two times. Everyone around them stops what they were doing to get a good look at the happy couple in the middle of the room. Their faces show confusion; as if they're not used to this sort of behavior coming from a prisoner as Frank and Hazel lock lips with each other. Jason himself tries his best _not_ to drop his jaw with a look of awe.

Of all the reactions Jason expected Frank to do, he _certainly_ did not expect this one. It was obvious the two were in love with each other, but he couldn't believe they wouldn't care to publicly show it. And in a prison area of all places. It seems like something Jason would only see in the movies. When Frank and his wife finally pull away from each other, he turns back to Jason. He mouths a quick thanks, and just by the look of gratitude Frank gives him, he knows he's instantly forgiven. Just like that. Can a girl really do all that? Make a guy's face light up like that?

But then again... Jason knew he wasn't the one to talk. After all... even _he_ doesn't recognize the smile that flashes across his face whenever he sees Piper. It's nothing like Frank and Hazel's reaction, but Jason supposes it's because he still doesn't know Piper as much as they seem to get each other. But Jason has a feeling that if Piper continues to pop up in his head like she's doing like-all the time now, he'll be getting closer... He mentally slaps himself. He's an idiot. He broke up with her, didn't he? It wasn't like Jason _wanted_ to break up with her, it was more like... he didn't feel comfortable being with her for some reason.

No, that wasn't it either. He's definitely comfortable being with Piper, it was more like... something was strange. Something was off about her. He knew she wasn't telling him the entire truth yesterday in the restaurant, and when they were listening to the strange mens' conversation in the woods, she seemed more annoyed than even curious. She also seemed to be panicking as well. Yes... there was definitely something off about her, and he knew he has done the right choice with breaking up with her.

But if that was true, why did he want her so much? Why did she keep on making a constant reappearance in his thoughts? Jason shakes his head again. He knows she's different from other girls he dated, and he knows he cares about her a lot more than he's letting on. Yes, that's why he broke up with her. For her own sake.

* * *

><p>Later on that day, Jason remembers that the strange men were going to be in the woods, so he heads towards his car. He remembers that they were meeting up with some lady named Joan or something, and if the men are who Jason thinks they are, he knows he'll be getting closer to figuring out who the thief is. When Jason finally comes into eye contact with his car, he immediately knows something is wrong. He walks faster towards it and stops to get a better look at it. The window is cracked. It's not a lot, but Jason's not stupid.<p>

He opens the car door and finds exactly what he was expecting to see. Another letter. He reaches for it, and slowly opens it.

_Dear "cop",_

_I know exactly what you're thinking. You think you're going to find some... information about me from those two lunatics from the woods the other day. Well, I can already tell you to save your energy. It's not going to get you anywhere. Let's just say... my friends aren't going to be around here anymore for you to get information from. Don't believe me? Check your closet._

Jason's eyes widen as he reads the last sentence. Then he runs up the stairs. His heart is pounding as he opens his closet door slowly, already knowing what was going to be in it.

He brings his head down to see two bloody bodies, sprawled across his closet floor. Their eyes are wide open, making them seem more petrified than dead, but Jason's seen enough violence to not be fooled by this. The two strange men are dead.

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><p><strong>...I'm BAAAAAACCCKKKK! Missed me? Probably not. Sorry this chapter's so short, and the ending of this chapter will be explained in the next one in Piper's POV. If it isn't already clear to you now. Review please?<strong>

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	8. New Letters

**Okay, here we go. This is somewhat of a long chapter so be prepared. Especially, get prepared for a LOT of angst and worry. This chapter takes place three months later, and Jason and Piper are still not talking to each other, but their feelings remain intact. Okay, anyways. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>When Jane tells Piper what she had done three months ago, she almost gets up from her chair and smacks Jane. Almost. Yet, there's always something that holds her back. She doesn't know what the hell it was, but she would always remain silent. And right now, even though she could move her arms and feet and it wouldn't be so hard to reach over and jack-slap her, she knows she couldn't. Well, she could, but she wouldn't. But <em>why <em>wouldn't she?

_"Everything's going to be alright, okay Piper? Daddy's here to hold you. Nothing's going to happen," Piper's dad says to her as she cries herself back to sleep. The nightmares were coming again, and it wasn't healthy for a nine-year-old girl. It was like this since day one. She had nothing but nightmares, and all she would do was cry, and cry, and cry. But never in her lifetime would she ever wake up her dad to comfort her. She didn't like it when other people helped her. And she was a big girl. She didn't need help from her _daddy.

_The dreams were a problem she always had, and they would take her to the therapist frequently to see what was wrong with her. But they seemed even more clueless than Piper._

_They were just the normal nightmares that a normal nine-year-old girl would have. Just endless dreams of monsters eating her, serial killers cutting deep into her flesh, and other horrors Piper didn't want to imagine. But the dream that night was unlike no other. Normally dreams would revolve around something trying to kill _her. _Something trying to eat _her. _Something harming _her. _But never the ones she loved the most in this tiny, harsh, cold world. And she only cared about one person at that time: her father._

_So eventually, Piper's dad had heard her screams and immediately went up to her room to comfort her. "Everything will be alright. It was just a dream. It will always just be a dream. Nothing's going to happen," he repeats to her, stroking his fingers into her hair. And she would fall asleep. That was the first time she didn't dream bad things that night._

Jane told Piper about how she was the one who wrote the latest letter about Cal and Zethes and had killed them off. That wasn't the part that bothered her the most (she felt bad for Cal). Her main concern at the moment was about how Jane found about the letters. "How?" Piper had asked, "How did you find about the letters?" But Jane didn't even have to answer for Piper to know. Jane was watching. Always, always watching. It confused Piper's brain and everything made no sense to her. All this time, she thought _she_ was the mastermind behind all of it. That _she_ was the secret key for Jane's plan to work out. Now, as Jane begins to explain, she realizes that she doesn't know a shit about Jane and she doesn't need her at all. So what does Jane want with her?

She realizes she might have spoken the last part out loud because Jane replies, "I already told you what I want with you. Do you not remember? I thought I made myself pretty clear when I told you." She glances down at Piper's arm and Piper begins to do the same. There, right below her elbow, was a long gash. She winces as the painful memory hits her. She knows its nothing like what abusive parents give to their children, but Jane would do anything, as long as it doesn't leave a mark. But this matter was an exception.

"Seriously, we're still on about this? Why would you want me to kill_ Jason Grace_ of all people? I mean... he's a nobody. It just makes no sense." Only half of what she said was true.

"You know _exactly_ why." And it hurts Piper because its true. Over the months, Jason has been avoiding her a lot and when he actually does look at her, it's nothing but confusion and suspicion. She knows he's getting closer, and that's exactly why Piper's starting to avoid him too. The less he knows, the better. And she also feels some type of panicking whenever Jane talks about this. Because she doesn't know why that whenever she glances at his regal posture, his stern but kind blue eyes, his face in general, her heart skips a beat. It's so unlike her, that it's starting to scare her.

Well. She does know why, but she wouldn't. She would never. It would be pointless anyways.

Piper shrugs. "Maybe. But that still doesn't explain what you're going to do if you even get the money."

Jane smirks and says, "Well, I'm going to start a new economy. What else would you do with money? Does it not make sense?"

"No," Piper says with a blank face. What the _hell _was Jane saying? "It does not make sense at all."

She sighs in annoyance before continuing, "I'm going to take the money and ship it overseas."

"Okay. Why?"

"For Heroin and other drugs." She says like it's so obvious. Piper almost face-palms herself. She had almost forgotten that Jane owned an illegal drug-dealing business. She was hungry for power, but most importantly: money. She would do anything for it. "Then I'm going to sell it to our lovely citizens here in this country and make a huge profit out of it."

"But how are you going to give it around the entire country so fast. It'll be stressful."

"Who says I'm going to actually give it to people?"

Silence. And then, "But that's really illegal."

"No, not really. I'm not actually handing out the drugs, I'm just going to... keep it. They can't put me in jail for just _storing_ it."

"But they can for the money people are giving you for it. And not to mention the crimes you did in order to get it."

Jane flashes a glare at Piper. "What do you care? It's not like you can tell anything to anybody. We made a deal remember? You help me with this _tiny_ favor and you get your father back. Everyone's happy."

Piper didn't like the guilt that was beginning to weigh her down slowly. She knows what she was going to do would get her in big trouble eventually, but her father would be safe, wouldn't he? Because even after all these years of stealing constantly, even she knows the penalty of doing so. And a thief can only hide for so long.

Her thoughts return to Jason. Just thinking about him made her really question Jane's entire plan. Maybe it was because she spent a lot of time with him so now she's questioning everything illegal? No, that's not it. Piper's stomach drops what feels to be a million degrees as she finally admits her feelings about the stupid cop that she's grown to like... a lot. That just makes the situation worse. Not only will she have to continue in this wretched plan, she has to kill Jason Grace. The thought wouldn't have bothered her three months ago... but this leaves a bitter feeling in Piper's stomach.

She shrugs it off for now and Jane leaves the room, apparently deciding that the conversation was now over.

_"Dad?" Piper says questioningly, staring at her dad's bloody body on the ground. He was still breathing and moving, but barely. "Daddy!" Piper's eleven-year-old body began to scream. She threw herself towards him, but a hand held her back._

_"Hello, Piper. Good to see you again." A male voice said in her ear. Piper recognized it immediately. "You've gone prettier since I've last seen you." She wanted to throw up. Zethes was the most perverted, most annoying person Piper ever met and he obviously hadn't changed a bit._

_"Let her go." Jane told him. Then she turned to Piper. "And you... your daddy is going to be okay. He wants me to take care of you now."_

_"Is he dead?"_

_"No," she said with a blank face; as if she felt she had other things to do than to talk to her, "But if you don't follow what I say and do exactly what I tell you to, he won't be."_

_Jane called Zethes's partner Cal and told him, "Take him. You already know where." Cal only nods and leaves with Piper's dad dangling in his arms. Piper continues to scream, but Jane covers her mouth before anything could come out of it. "I think it's best for you to keep your mouth closed. Or else you'll be joining your father real soon."_

_"I thought you said he wasn't dead!"_

_"He's not. Yet."_

Piper walks in a daze towards her room. As she walks though, she peeks into Jane's room. She's never allowed in there, and she wonders why Jane herself isn't in there. She shrugs and begins to turn back towards her room, but stops herself short when she sees something peeking out from under Jane's bed. It's an envelope. Curious, Piper walks towards it in a slow manner.

She picks it up and glances around quickly again, paranoid that Jane could come inside the room any minute. She reads the label slowly, her eyes not processing what she's reading so she reads it again. _From: Tristan Mclean To: Piper Mclean, _the label said. She blinks and reads it over and over again as her heart begins to race. A letter from her father? And Jane didn't even bother to give it to her? Suddenly, Piper doesn't care if Jane catches her red-handed in her room as anger begins to fill her up. She's so mad, and crazy, and just so... angry that she just opens the door and stalks to her room before slamming the door and finally opening the letter.

_Dear Piper,_

_This is urgent. You need to read this fast and burn it quickly. This is about Jane. She's going to terrible things, Piper. And no matter what she tells you about her plan, know that it's completely wrong. She will find a way to use you then dispose of you like a candy wrapper._

_She's going to be using the money for so many things, but trust me: drug-dealing is the least of her problems. I don't know all the facts, but don't follow anything she says. I could never tell you any of this, but things have been happening to me to. I would never tell you because I couldn't worry you. You need to understand that after this letter, you need to call the police immediately. Tell them everything, no matter what threat Jane gives you. I know this is my last night in this world; Jane has told me. Do not grieve for me. I have to go now. I wish I could tell you more. I still love you Piper, that's something that will never change._

_Hurry,_

_Dad_

Piper studies the handwriting. It was definitely her dad's, no doubt. But that didn't reassure her in any way. Especially now that she looked at the date written on the bottom. It was the same night when he was taken away by Cal. But even so, why hadn't Jane burnt the letter? What's it doing in her bedroom, without a scratch? Had she simply forgotten about it? Or maybe she hadn't even known about it? That seemed more likely. Actually now that she thought of it, Jane's room would be the least likely place for Jane to suspect something to be in it.

Piper's hopes were all diminished when she thought again of the date the letter was written. If it was written back then, then Piper's dad is already dead. Her body froze. She heard sirens. She glanced out of the window and saw immediately what she had been dreading. The cops were here. Probably to arrest her. She knew she should have run once she saw the flashing red and blue lights, but she was too shocked and saddened by the letter to do anything. The letter told her not to grieve, but how could she not grieve when the only person who actually cared about her was dead? She wanted to cry. She wanted to just collapse with grief.

But before she could do anything, the door opened and a cop walked in. Piper had to focus her eyes on the figure in front of her. Jason. He was in his cop uniform and his handcuffs were out which confirmed that he was going to arrest her, but she didn't care. She just learned her father had died and she didn't care that she would probably be going to jail now.

Without her brain thinking properly, she ran to Jason's side and wrapped her arms around his neck and dug her face into his shoulder. And cried. All the grief came pouring back into her, but she did realize one good thing about this entire situation. Now that Jane couldn't blackmail her anymore, she had no reason to be afraid. She could tell everything. She didn't even realize Jason's arms were around her, holding her tightly until he asked, "Piper?"

Piper pulled back a little and gently placed the letter in his hand. He stared it with confusion then turned back to her. "You know, we're here to arrest your dad's assistant right? I need to tell you everything. We figured out everything. Jane is the thief. She's been it the entire time. I know you don't believe me, but-"

"No," She said, cutting him off. She did have to admit though, she thought she had been busted for a second there. She thought that Jason was going to arrest her. And somehow that almost brought her in tears again when she realized that she would have to tell Jason everything. By herself. She suddenly felt so guilty for everything. She almost wishes that he had already known, so she wouldn't have to see his face once he found out. She would have paid to see it three months ago... but now things are different.

She's grown very fond of this Jason Grace and is happy that she doesn't have to kill him off and follow Jane's orders anymore. But it would have made everything a hundred times more easier if she hadn't grown to like him like she does now. But she knew he would hate her less if she finally took off her mask and showed him the truth about her. Then he might possibly forgive her. No, she knows it won't. But at least she can stop the stupid guilt from growing in her stomach too much.

So with a deep breath she says, "_I_ need to tell you everything."

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><p><strong>Wow. That was tiring. And no, this story will not be ending soon. I can already tell you that I don't think Jane will be reappearing again anytime soon, but that doesn't mean this story is ending. Yes, that conflict is somewhat resolved, but there'll be a new conflict arising soon. It won't be that long, but it could last a few more chapters. Review please!<strong>

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	9. The Criminal Speaks

**This is short, but I still hope you like how it turned out!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>There is so much Jason wants to tell Piper right now. The past entire three months he had been researching. A lot. And he didn't like what he was finding. If it hadn't been for those strange men that Jason had found in his closet, he never would have found out.<p>

He figured if he looked closely enough at the patterns, he would be able to figure it out. Obviously, who ever heard the strange mens' conversation that day, was with Piper and him. So he tracked the blood. Apparently, these mens' names were Cal and Zethes, and they had been working for Jane, Piper's dad's assistant, since Day 1 of their lives. It had to be Jane, right? Then why was Piper acting so weird?

He knows that Piper would be shocked by the news he gave to her, but she seemed to already _know._ And frankly, that seemed to make him more suspicious. So he keeps quiet when she gestures him to sit on her couch in the living room.

Him and the cops had arrived about ten minutes ago, and they had already put Jane in jail. But Piper didn't seem to care about it at all. In fact, she seemed to be more stricken by something else. The letter she had handed him. Oh, no. Was she getting the letters too? No wonder she seemed so understanding when he explained the letters that day on their date. Before he could stop himself, he studied her pale face. Then, "Are you okay, Piper? Look, I know it's a lot to take in, but-"

"Please," she cut him off. Then she points to the letter again. "You need to read it."

"Look, Piper. I know what this is. You-"

"No you don't!" Piper practically yells. Then she calms down when she sees his confused face. "Just. _Read_ it."

So he does. And he doesn't realize how shocked he looks until Piper asks him, "Do you understand now?"

"Yes." And he thinks he does. "Oh, Piper, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I thought." Then he sighs. "I didn't know Tristan Mclean..." But eventually he can't find the right words to say so he just reaches out and hugs Piper. After all, what were you supposed to say when you just found out that your sort-of-ex-girlfriend's father had died a long time ago and she didn't even know until now? He could practically_ feel_ the grief coming out of Piper. It takes him a while to figure out that he actually _could_. She was crying again. And all Jason could do was hold her closer.

Then she pulls away. "No, you still don't," she says bitterly.

"Still don't what?" He says as he brushes away another stray tear.

She grabs his fingers and pushes them away. "Understand," she says more irritably.

Jason blinks before saying, "Then explain." He whispers, "please."

She takes a deep breath before looking down again. "Imthetheif."

"What?"

"Imthetheif," she repeats again.

"Can you say that again? Slower?"

"I'm the thief, for God's sake!" She says looking up. He blinks again. He doesn't think he heard her right.

"Umm, look, Piper. I know you are trying to put the blame on yourself in order to save Jane. But it's already been proven and-"

"No!" Then she thinks for a while before digging in her pocket. She almost throws it at him. When Jason catches it in mid-air, he almost drops it. It's his coin. It's his coin that he's been missing for three months. Ilvis.

"Where did you find this?"

"I didn't find it! I stole it! I'm the one who's been writing the letters, I'm the one who stole from all those malls and shit. I'm the one who 'tripped' on the latch that showed the money. I'm the one who tricked Frank into jail, and Jason," she says while wiping her face again, "I'm the thief."

And Jason wouldn't have believed her (although everything makes rather sense now) if it hadn't been for the stupid coin she threw at him. "But... what about Jane? It doesn't explain why-"

"Jane had a part in this, I'll tell you that. She is the one who killed Cal and Zethes. And she is the one who gave you that last letter. But I'm the one who did most of it. I'll explain once you..." she trails off. But Jason didn't need the hint to know what she was saying.

Jason tries to think. No. There _has _to be another solution to this. It _cannot _be Piper. The one girl that he actually...

But that was a different girl. This girl... he didn't even know anymore. That girl that had sang in front of his eyes that first day, that girl that 'helped' him in the case, that girl who kissed him like she had... it was all gone. It couldn't be this. It just couldn't.

But it was. And even _he _had to admit it. Because now, everything made sense. In fact, it made _too _much sense. There had to be more to this, right? Jane did something... it wasn't entirely Piper. But Jason knows his duty. He knows that all people who participate in criminal activity, should be taken to jail immediately. And Piper, the girl that he had admired for such a long time now, was no exception.

But Jason didn't have to reluctantly tell Piper to put her hands up in surrender at all. In fact, she put it up first. And he handcuffs her wordlessly, his turn to look down the entire time.

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><p>Jason thinks about his day that night before he goes to sleep. He remembers in the morning, he had been happy because he thought he had been <em>so close <em>to figuring out the entire secret. It could have all been his, he had thought. But now he realizes that there is _so_ much to learn. He was not even _near _the truth. Well, maybe he was getting there, but now he's thinking that he doesn't _want _to know anymore. He thinks the truth is better hidden, behind its own mask. He swallows a bitter taste in his mouth and tries to go to sleep again. It doesn't work for a while.

But through all the conflicted emotions Jason was feeling at the moment, he knew one was absolutely true, no matter how much he did _not_ want to admit it. Maybe it's because he _still _likes the way she laughs, the way she just... _is_. And it's stupid, because it shouldn't be happening. He's a _cop. _And the thought of it being practically forbidden, just makes him more confused and more annoyed.

But that doesn't stop the one thought that enters his brain before he falls into a restless sleep once again.

The worst thing he could have imagined _at all _(and he definitely _did not_):

He, an _award-winning-best-cop-of-the-year_, had fallen in love with a _criminal_.

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><p><strong>Angsty enough for you? No? Eh. Review?<strong>

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	10. Cold, Hard, Guilt

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>Piper reflects again about what had happened three weeks ago, back at her house. It had gone a lot more smoother than Piper thought it would have went. In fact, it might have been a little <em>too <em>smooth. So maybe he had sort of been expecting it? She didn't know. She felt clueless again; he just handcuffed her without peeping a word. Was he too shocked to say anything? Was he still confused with her revelation? She didn't know that either. She didn't seem to be knowing a lot of things lately.

Like why the police guards kept opening a small door to let her meager amount of food in. Why did they even bother? She felt enough guilt in her to kill her. She didn't need the food to give her hope that she might live. She didn't want it. Especially when she knew she wouldn't live.

It _has_ only been four months and three weeks since she started working publicly for Jane, she reasoned, but she did enough crimes to last a lifetime. So really, there was no point in hoping to live.

Until she comes to one thought. It has been three weeks since she was arrested and nobody bothered to take her in for questioning. Why was that? They were probably talking to Jane, trying to get something out of her. They are fools for thinking that they actually can. The only person that would now be willing to spill out any of Jane's deeds, is Piper. But why try telling them that if they won't listen?

Because of Jason, of course; they all trust him. And back when Piper was getting along fine with Jason, they treated her like family. In fact, Jason's best friend, Leo, has become one of her personal friends as well. At least, for a while. Ever since they had arrived at the jail, everything had changed. Leo and a couple of the other policemen (a sarcastic man named Percy, his friend Grover, and his brother Tyson) were a little confused why exactly Piper was there so late at night with the tight handcuffs attached to her wrists. But Jason didn't say a word and walked right past them towards the jail cell where Frank Zhang used to occupy.

It was two days later that Piper saw Leo and the rest walking by her jail cell with a cold look in their eyes. And that multiplied Piper's guilt. In fact, for the past couple of days, since she had nothing to do, she was making a mental list of all the people she was guilty at. _Frank, Leo, Percy, Tyson, Grover, Annabeth _(who she had gotten along with perfectly fine, considering she was Percy's girlfriend), _Jason, Dad...  
><em>

The list could go on forever. Her brain hurt just thinking about it. But she didn't care.

The guard had placed her food again for the day, but she didn't bother to reach over for it. She was done with it.

About two hours later of some more self-loathing, the jail cell door opened. "Someone would like to see you," the guard said, giving her a blank stare. _About time, _she thought bitterly, but got up anyways. She recognized the guy, Dakota was his name. He was also close to Jason, but Piper didn't really talk to him much.

"Who will be questioning me?" She asked as soon they got out of the door. He walked behind her, being the guard, and she didn't really want to see another cold face directed at her so she didn't bother to look behind her to talk to him.

"You will find out when we get there," he said momentarily with absolutely no emotion. She suddenly felt jumpy. She knew that they would eventually come for her for answers once they found out they wouldn't get anywhere with Jane, so why was she feeling like this now? She was actually feeling nervous. And this feeling only happened once: when she was at Central Park and was waiting for Jason to appear. And now, it was happening again. She just decided to ignore her sweaty palms and let the guard give her directions to the room.

Once they got there and the guard backed out of the door, Piper was a little surprised and, okay, relieved that it wasn't Jason waiting for her in the room. It wasn't even a man (and she's not being sexist or anything, but it seemed that Jason's only 'friends' were all males with the exception of her. Now, she realizes that she was wrong once again). The woman was tall, she looked about Piper's age, and seemed almost... regal. Like she was just waiting for someone to just slap on her crown and make her the queen. Okay, maybe not like that. But she did seem authoritative. And she made Piper feel like going outside, digging a hole, and burying herself alive with the looks that she was shooting her.

But Piper pretended to not feel intimidated by the woman's appearance and sat down in the chair in front of her. The woman continued to glare at her before speaking. "I've heard of you, Piper. A lot. You're all he ever talks about. Or used to. He's told me all good things about you. So much, that I practically thought you were pure gold and innocent and nothing could change the way he feels about you. Maybe even now: who knows, really? But who are humans to actually be _pure gold and innocent_? It's just not natural, do you think not?"

Piper kept quiet. Okay... this has taken a weird start. But she couldn't pretend that she didn't know what she was talking about. And what _was_ she supposed to say to something like this?

The woman continued, "So I just want to know one simple thing: why? Why would you try to ruin something like that? Were you _trying _to hurt him like you did?" And when Piper looked up from the desk and into the woman's black eyes, she saw what this was really about. This was no questioning. No one had really wanted to talk with her about the case; they obviously still wanted to talk with Jane. This was about something totally different. This was about Jason.

This woman, Piper is guessing, was a woman from his past. She didn't know what was between the two, but judging from the hurt and anger in her eyes, she knows she had (or still has) a thing for Jason. And that makes her look down again. She thought that she was the only one who had a rough past and Jason didn't know about it. Clearly, there was stuff about Jason that she didn't know about either.

Like for this woman for example.

Piper couldn't think of anything to say because she was feeling to guilty to say anything. But about five minutes later (she could tell because there was a clock in the back of the room), her mouth finally figured out how to work. "I didn't know... I didn't mean to hurt him, " Piper said quietly.

The woman snorted. "That's what they all say, isn't it?"

"No... really. When this whole thing started out, I wasn't really planning for this to happen. It just sort of did. And maybe... in the beginning I didn't really care about hurting him, but..." she trailed off as a whole bunch of emotions were pouring into her.

She really only thought of Jason as a friend. Okay, maybe a little more than that. But whatever she felt for the guy, she knew it in her that she didn't want him to get hurt. Of course, in the beginning, she didn't really care what he thought of her, but... now she doesn't know. And either way, this isn't really the time to figure out her feelings for him. And even if she did and the results were highly positive, she knew that it wouldn't matter because he would never look at her the same again.

She almost forgot that she had company until the woman began to speak again.

"It doesn't matter now. What happened, happened. There's no going back on it. But you should still know that what you did, was a terrible mistake. From the past three weeks since he found out, things have changed. A lot. He won't look at me-or anyone- in the eye anymore. And his job, which he has excelled in a lot, lacks his uttermost optimism. All because he's simply confused. But no. I promise you, once he gets over this, and he _will_, he will get right back on track. And he is, slowly, day by day.

In fact, he's arrested eighteen highly known criminals just in the past _two days_. Everyone is happy for his new record on arresting criminals, but we also know that he's not. Why? Because even though you're finally in jail, he's been beaten in a way that can't be fully healed. And you'll be sorry, Piper McLean. Just because you're in jail does not mean you are safe from getting into even more trouble. It never does. It's about time you learn it."

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Check! Yaaayyy. Yes, I know this was a pointless chapter but I needed a way to add Reyna (if you haven't noticed that was her) into the story. And I just needed a chapter to fill in the blanks before it was Jason's POV in the next chapter. So yeah.<strong>

**Okay. Serious time. Since exams are starting in like a week and me and my family is visiting my relatives next week, I won't be updating every week like I normally do. The latest will probably be in like two weeks until the end of our school year (which is like the end of next month). Sorry for that and I wrote this on my profile just in case if you forget!**

**Review please!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	11. Gold Is Not Always A Good Thing

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>Ugh. Tuesday. Another day of boring paperwork and meaningless cases. Really, he had no idea what he was doing there anymore. He couldn't even concentrate. The only time that he actually focused on his work, was when Leo called him to help him go arrest somebody. And even then, he felt like zoning out.<p>

So this time, he didn't really bother reaching over his desk to finish his case. It just wasn't worth it anymore. It seemed like every single day since Piper got arrested, his day was becoming more and more tiring, and more and more meaningless. So he just watched the clock with a blank expression on his face, wondering what he had done wrong to deserve what happened so many nights ago.

Eventually, the tiny part of his brain that _wasn't _self-loathing at the moment told him to suck it up and continue working. It took him a lot of will, but he managed after ten minutes.

A few hours later, he snapped his head up at the sound of the door opening. A woman with long black hair and wearing work clothes walked in. He felt a small smile creep on to his face once he figured out it was Reyna, one of his good friends from high school. Reyna was one of those serious girls, one that was extremely committed to her work, one that wouldn't take no for an answer and used her glares frequently at anyone who annoyed her. So in short words-the exact opposite of his pal, Leo.

They had been really close friends during the time when he was in school. They would do everything together. People would even mistake them for a couple, even though Jason protested it a lot. It wasn't that he didn't like Reyna, it was more like he didn't think of them _together_ like that. They were _way_ too similar to work out. They were better off being friends.

"Are you doing okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Jason lied. He didn't know why, but he just wasn't comfortable talking about Piper in front of Reyna (even though he used to do it all the time). It just didn't feel right. He remembered they would start talking about random things (like how her job was, memories from high school, things Leo had done-small talk, really) but then he would bring up Piper and for some reason, Reyna's rare smile would drop a little, and her eyes would lose its crinkles, and Jason knew she felt uncomfortable. Jason always shrugged it off. He didn't think it had anything to do with him.

Now, he realized how stupid he had been. He had been too blind with the thought of Piper always stuck in his head to notice how much Reyna wouldn't let on about her feelings for him. He still felt guilty for not saying anything since her feelings were still unrequited, and frankly, he didn't think they ever would be. Like he had said, they just wouldn't work out. But Jason didn't want to hurt Reyna like that. He was waiting for the right time. And he was anxious to say that it was coming soon. Because honestly, even though the numerous times he told himself that Piper had betrayed him and that she basically tore his heart out, danced on it, then jammed it back in, leaving it crushed and broken, he still couldn't help the way he was _still _attracted to her.

And he tried, he really did, to look at other girls the way he had done to Piper, just to get over her, but he just _couldn't_. And he hated himself even more for it. "Why would I not be?" He asked, breaking out of his reverie.

Reyna ignored the last part and said, "If you need anything, just give us a call. You were here since 9 AM, you know. You could use a break."

Jason looked back up to the clock, startled that he hadn't been doing anything for eight hours straight, self-loathing and thinking about Piper. Everything about Piper. _Stop it, _he scolded himself, _it was three weeks ago. She was three weeks ago. She's never coming back so stop acting like she will._

He nodded and shot a small smile for reassurance at Reyna before she swiftly walked out of the room without speaking another word.

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><p>The next day, he noticed something intriguing lying behind the bush, underneath the prickly leaves when he was walking back from work, deep in thought as usual nowadays. It looked like some sort of highly expensive, gold-laced purse with fancy designs sprawled all over it. It had dark stains imprinted on the velvet covering as well. <em>Why would someone leave this lying around like that? <em>He thought.

If that wasn't weird enough, he glanced at the price tag located on the side of the bag. _15.99, _it had read. Cheap. Way too cheap. At least, for something that isn't meant to be cheap at all. He shook his head; this made absolutely no sense at all.

He didn't think much of it as he walked away from it, not really giving it a second thought, and not realizing one of the biggest mistakes he was doing by walking away.

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><p>He was appointed to talk with Jane-<em>again<em>-the next week. They wouldn't let Jane get out of her jail cell because the last time they had tried, she would start running away, and even though it was always a harmless escape attempt, they were starting to get really annoyed. So Jason would come to Jane.

He was really hoping to get some actual information from Jane this time, but he knew it was pointless. It always is. He knows the only one who might actually let something out, would be Piper. But he didn't want to see her at the moment. He didn't want to see her ever. And even so, he knew she could make up a lie again, she had done it before and he knew she could do it in a heartbeat again, so he didn't want to take any chances.

Jane, of course, could make up a lie as well, but she was obviously having way too much fun watching them not succeeding at all. So as he walks into her jail cell, he is surprised to see that she had gotten a lot more skinnier than Jason had seen her. Way too skinny. "Have you been eating properly?" He asked after a few moments of silent glaring, even though he didn't give an inch about her eating habits.

"I think I'm doing alright," she said with a smirk. Jason grabbed a chair and sighed. This could take a while.

About an hour later, Jason _still _got nothing from Jane and was about to get up from his chair and leave again until he saw something in her hand from the corner of his eye. It was shining. It gave off a sort of yellowish glow from the dim light that was in the cell at the moment. "What's that?" Jason said with suspicion.

Jane looked down and seemed to know immediately at where he was looking at. Jason thought he saw for a quick second that Jane's eyes went a little wide for a second. And then it went normal so fast that Jason thought he had imagined it. She shrugged. "Nothing," she said with absolutely no care at all, that it made even Jason almost believe her. Almost.

He held out his palm. "Okay, then it wouldn't be so hard to give it up." Jane shrugged again before passing it over.

"Fine. You're wasting your time, though." She smirked, "I can still see you're getting nowhere. Have fun."

He didn't say a word. He just walked out of there. As soon as he got back in his office, he examined it closely. The object was obviously gold, similar to the object he had seen a week ago. Strange. Why was Jane hiding this from them? Well, the reason _was_ obvious.

Pausing for a moment, he reached over his desk again, this time looking for the scanner. As soon as he found it, he did a couple of tests and found what he hadn't been expecting at all.

He didn't even realize he was running out of his office and back to the bush he had found earlier until he got there. He scrimmaged through the sharp thorn-like leaves as he was searching for the damned object. He kept searching until his hand nearly bled. Once he spread the leaves apart from each other (painfully), he could immediately tell something was wrong.

The leaves and the soil and everything about the bush had seemed completely uneven-as if someone had also been scrimmaging through it like he had done now. Someone had wanted that bag for reasons he did not know, and Jane really had been trying to hide that gold tube from him. Those two (or how many people there were) were working together, he now realized.

But one thing was for sure. The one evidence that he had ever gotten from the past three weeks was gone, just snatched out of his hands like that. And now, he's realizing that this mystery didn't end with him arresting both Piper _and _Jane. No. This had only just begun.

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><p><strong>Yes, I told you there was going to be another conflict arising. This was definitely not the end of this story. There'll be more to come. Five guesses who's Jane working for. Whoever guesses it first, well, kudos to you. Anyways, thanks so much for being patient with me! I know I haven't updated on Sunday like I normally do, but I already told you the reason for that. And I said I would update in two weeks maximum time, so there you go!<strong>

**Review?**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	12. Riots

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>Piper was exhausted. She really had no idea why. She hadn't really been doing anything. She supposed that not having anything to do could really bring the lethargy out of someone. She wasn't used to not having anything to do. She just felt so... <em>bored<em>.

And that was weird, coming from a prisoner in jail. Normally, she pictured a prisoner always trying to do their best to escape, always so worked up about the most slightest of things. She figured she should at least _tr_y to escape. But then she realized just how much of a stupid idea that would be. It wouldn't make sense if she deliberately got herself in jail, then immediately tried to find a way to escape from this hell-hole. She knew there was a reason why she didn't try to escape, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She could if she wanted to. It was pretty easy. Being in the prison cell for more than a month now, she would know what the timings of the guards coming-and-going would be. Everyday in the morning (she assumed because that was always the time she would wake up), the guard Dakota would patrol the halls for a long while. Then, what seemed to be two hours later, the other guard Percy would patrol it. The tricky part was figuring out how to get out of there without being seen. Tricky-meaning for people who was _not _her.

All her life, she had been training to be hidden, never to stand out, and never do anything out of the ordinary. Even before Jane started controlling her. She had learned the paparazzi were never one to keep secrets. She had to learn that the hard way. So learning to escape without being seen wasn't the main issue here.

Either way, she would always end up where she started-in her little jail cell. All because there was something out their holding her back from escaping. She hated the feeling. It made her feel even more trapped inside.

Figuring there was nothing better to do, she just stretched out her legs from her previous sitting position and laid her head back to the wall. And fell asleep.

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><p><em>Rattle. Rattle. Rattle.<em>

Piper groaned. It was probably the guard with the food again, so she really didn't care about getting up. She just twisted a little until her head wasn't facing the sound and attempted to go back to sleep.

_Rattle. Rattle. Rattle._

She ignored it again. Maybe they were just doing it to annoy her? She swore to God, if they did that _one more time_-

_Rattle. Rattle. Rattle._

Piper's eyes shot up, and even though she still felt tremendously guilty about all she's done to get into jail like that, she turned her head sharp to give one of her personal death-threatening glare to the person who had chosen to wake her up.

The next thing she registered in her mind was that the normal guard who normally gave her food, wasn't there. Raising her eyebrows in confusion, she realized that _no one _was there. Instead, there was a small scrap of paper lying on her side of the bars. She scrambled to get up, her legs sore from laying on them for so long, and reached for it.

_Meet me outside. I'm still not done with you yet. I never was. And don't give me the excuse that you're in jail now. I know you can escape-even for a little while._

_-J_

She studied the note for a while. The _J _she realized, could mean many things. For one thing, it could possibly mean Jason. She grimaced as she still remembered her conversation with that woman that other day. Normally, she would feel a little bit annoyed that some random stranger was coming up to her, telling her her faults, and everything she had done wrong and _threatening _her. But she didn't know why she felt different about her. As she thought, that woman was obviously close to Jason. And it obviously had really hurt him of what she had done to him. So maybe she decided to let it go?

She knew she was being selfish, but she couldn't help that eeny-teeny bit of _envy _she was feeling towards the woman. The woman was obviously on _very _good terms with Jason, and she couldn't help but wish that had been her and Jason instead. She rolled her eyes in foolishness. He wouldn't want her anymore. He had obviously moved on. And if he could, then so could she.

With that being figured out, she immediately moved to the more (at the moment) appealing and way more _likely _option. Jane. She knew it was Jane. It had to be. So why did she keep on having false hopes?

Finally sighing, she crawled over to the other side of the cell and waited. She looked both ways, searching for a guard. Of course, there was one, but Piper could handle this easily. She knew how to start a riot. She took her chains that were attached to her, and banged them against the bars of the cell. After about five minutes of desperate _clang_-ing, she had woke up her 'friendly' neighbors. They immediately started shouting/cussing at her to shut up, and the guard looked over to see what was going on.

But Piper kept on rattling her chains. Eventually, the prisoners had started to get really annoyed at her and, obviously not thinking rationally, threw their only food at her and aimed for her head. She soon felt a lot of pain (of course she would, who _wouldn't _when pounds of plates were clanging against one's head?). "_Enough_!" The guard finally spoke up. The prisoners wouldn't listen; they were obviously having fun with this. She could tell they were really bored before, now they finally had the energy to rant about something.

Eventually, the guard came to his senses and decided that they weren't going to stop, so opened Piper's cell and grabbed her by the arm and led her out of the hallway.

Once they had gotten in a secluded room, the guard didn't even have time to say anything before he was banged into the wall, flipped onto the ground, and knocked out into unconsciousness.

Getting out of there was just as easy as that. After all, Piper was used to this. She used to do it all the time. It wasn't anything new she really had to learn. If Piper hadn't been silently celebrating in her mind, she would have been suspicious.

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><p>As soon as she had gotten out into the <em>incredibly <em>bright sunlight (she just noticed that being in a very dark prison, could do a lot of things to one's vision), she felt someone clamp their hand onto her mouth. In normal circumstances, she would have let out a scream or tried squirming. But, given that she already knew who it was, she didn't do much. She just let herself be carried away like that.

Once inside the woods, Jane turned to Piper. "We don't have much time, but we need to get out of here. Fast."

"What?"

"She told me," Jane started to mutter to herself, or to Piper, but she couldn't really tell much, "she told me that this might happen."

"What might happen?" Piper was really starting to get confused. There's _another _person involved in this?

She shook her head. "That boy, Jason... he might be getting closer. I tried to hide it, I really did, but he definitely noticed. It's a good thing she hided it in time before he figured it out..." she still seemed to be muttering to herself. Why was Jane still talking to her? Why did she still seem to... _trust _her?

And then it hit her. Jane still didn't know that Piper was about to betray everything to the police. She didn't know that it was _she _who got her own self in jail, just to let it out. But Piper thought, it was better that way. At least for herself.

So Piper clamped her mouth shut and, for the first time being around Jane all of her life, she listened.

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><p>She disguised herself so others wouldn't be able to see her as the wanted criminal. It was easy. Everything was easy, until recently that is. But she couldn't let her mind wander off again-she'd done enough of that in prison. She needed to stick her mind to one thing, and one thing only. After Jane had told her some things about her boss's plan, she immediately knew she would have to tell somebody.<p>

She couldn't tell Jason because she knew he would never listen, and she couldn't tell Jason's friends because-well, they were Jason's friends. And it wasn't like she had anybody else to talk to. She was always the secluded one in her family-ironic, considering her father is a movie star. _Was, _she reminded herself painfully, _he was a movie star._

As she walked into the building near Central Park that very first day she had formally met Jason, she felt the tears brimming in her eyes. She furiously wiped them away before they could control her emotions again and, once again, put on a straight face. She couldn't bear to think of that right now; she really did have to move on in life. Sometimes. But this definitely was one of those times.

So, sucking in a deep breath, she asked the front lady of the building about the only person she actually knew. Because really, she just needed somebody to _listen _to her. And he was the one person that came to her mind right away.

"Hello. Is Frank Zhang here today? I need to talk to him about something urgent."

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><p><strong>I know it was a little confusing about exactly how Piper had gotten out of jail so easily, but that will be explained a little bit more in Jason's POV. Also, it was sort of confusing when Jane was talking to Piper, but I needed <em>some <em>sort of mystery brewing-at least, for now. And yes, Frank is back. He'll be showing up more often, and... that's where the Jasper will come in. Yes, I haven't given up on Jasper completely. It'll definitely still be there.**

**Review?**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	13. That Piper Girl

**A/N: Okay, yes, I'm a tad bit late in updating. But it's only one day! But the good news: I just finished my finals! I'm done for the rest of the school year! So what does that mean? More updates!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>The cautious jerking of his shoulders quickly woke Jason up, and made him realize that he had fallen asleep on the job... <em>again<em>. "Um, Officer?"

He blinked away his drowsiness before he replied, "Yes, yes, sorry. I know this happened before, but I promise I'll be extra careful," and gave one of the security guards, Dakota, a wave to gesture he could be dismissed, now that he was woken up.

"Um... It's not that," Dakota said, glancing around the room with a worried and-guilty?-face. And that's how Jason knew immediately something was wrong.

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Oh," He sat forward in his chair, curious, "Then what's up?"

Dakota sighed, a long deep sigh that made Jason even more suspicious, and answered, "There's been... a breakout."

Jason blinked. "What?"

"There's been a breakout, sir. A prisoner has escaped," Dakota said, sounding a little exasperated.

He blinked again. _No. No, no, no, no... _This hadn't happened in years. It hadn't happened since... since Jason started to work here. It couldn't have been happening _now_. "Who?" Jason asked immediately. "Who escaped?" He repeated while getting up from his chair, pacing out the door to the hallway, with Dakota closely catching up.

"That Piper girl, sir."

Jason stopped in his tracks. "What?"

"That Piper girl," Dakota repeated once more, his face showing complete irritation. Jason didn't really seem to notice or care at that moment. He was still frozen on the spot. "With all due respect sir, we really don't have time for this. We need to go on. We need to find her." And this time, Dakota was the one leading Jason down the hall.

Dakota, unlike his other friends, didn't really get his and Piper's relationship with each other. He had always thought that they were mere acquaintances, and nothing more. He obviously didn't get how much this meant to Jason. But then again, it shouldn't mean anything, right? So Jason unfroze in his spot and jogged after Dakota who was already at the camera room.

"She left just a few minutes ago. I saw glimpses of her sneaking down the hallway when I was getting ready for guard duty, but I didn't realize it was a prisoner until I saw her jail cell empty. I thought she was gone for questioning and when I went to find out, she was gone and the other guard was lying on the floor unconscious. I ran outside immediately, but she wasn't there either. I wanted to talk to you before I checked out the security cameras," Dakota explained.

Jason quickly typed on the computers and rewind-ed the tape. At first it showed Piper looking at her hands, her eyes darting across something in it, and then it showed her reaching for her chains on her hands, and crawling towards the jail bars, and then-that was it. The screen just... stopped. Jason and Dakota just stared blankly at the security cameras.

That was it? Piper had obviously figured out a way to get into the room and tamper the cameras, without being seen by the thousands of guards that were blocking her way, and also without anybody warning any of the other guards or even Jason himself about the breakout. She was incredibly sneaky at this. He had thought that no one would be able to do such a thing, considering the amount of time and effort he had put himself to protect these fragile rooms.

But instead of feeling angry at her for doing such a feat, he found himself chuckling instead, making Dakota spin his head to look at him with a questioning eyebrow raised. "What's wrong, sir?"

He just chuckled again and made his way to the door. "This, my friend, is what we like to call a 'professional'. Don't underestimate her. Trust me, I've learned the hard way."

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><p>So he and Dakota had basically spent the rest of the day searching for Piper. They had gone everywhere; looking in her jail cell for any hints, walking around the building to see any signs of why she was breaking out, and even walking around town to see if she had gone anywhere in the short amount of time she was gone. They had decided it best to keep her disappearance a secret for now, so they would have time to search by themselves until someone had noticed.<p>

Eventually, someone did, of course. It was one of the guards who normally came to give her food, realized she wasn't there and came to tell Jason immediately. "Yes, I know. But don't go bringing it up. We need to have at least _some _signs about her before we go off worrying the entire city," He had said to him, and dismissed him shortly.

About a week later, Jason had finally given up about ever finding her again alone and finally decided to put out 'Wanted' posters and let the press know about the situation and Jason was even going to set up a reward for whoever found Piper. He was about to shut the door of his car and start setting up, until Dakota came rushing out of the prison doors and paused right in front of him, bending over to hold his knees while catching his breath.

"What's wrong, Dakota?"

"That... that girl... that Piper girl," He managed to say between breaths, "she's back."

Jason got out of his car and slammed the door shut. "What do you mean 'she's back'?"

Dakota had gotten his breath back again and was now furrowing his eyebrows in exhaustion, obviously irritated once more about Jason's slow comprehending. "Oh, please don't start this again. It mean _she's back _for God's sake! When I was walking by her jail cell, double-checking for anymore clues about her disappearance, she was just _sitting there_. As if she hadn't done _anything_! I demanded she tell me where she was, but she refused to talk to me." And they both rushed up to the doors and up the stairs.

"So you're saying that she just came back? That she brought herself back to her own jail cell? Like she just... returned out of nowhere?"

"Just like she left, sir."

And when they got to her jail cell, it appeared that Dakota was right. Because sitting on the floor of her jail cell was someone he hadn't seen in what felt like almost forever and was most definitely someone he hadn't really minded never seeing again. Well, almost that is.

And now, he finally got why she was here. Piper would never leave like that. She wouldn't just... escape. She wouldn't just run away. There was a reason why she surrendered herself that fateful day, and there was also a reason why she had left like this. But along with that, there was a reason why she had returned. And he now realized that it was up to him to find out why.

All of these thoughts continued to replay in his brain as he tried to make sense of what was happening. None of them, at the moment, made any sense to him.

Except for only one fact: He needed to shove away his cowardly behavior, and finally face Piper and speak with her. No matter how much his brain was screaming at him that he really didn't have the guts to do it. But he needed to speak with her alone.

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><p><strong>Yeah, I know it was sort of a filler chapter. But I promised in the last chapter I would go a little more in detail about the breaking out, and I did. But I hoped the ending of this chapter will get you at least a <em>little <em>bit anticipated for the next one. Jason and Piper are finally going to speak to each other! And it might not be entirely pleasant, but it's a start. Right?**

**Anyways, I haven't forgot about you and most definitely will not! I love you guys for being patient with me and my chapters! Review please!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	14. Now We Have A Plan

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>Piper had been surprised before. One time, for her eighth birthday, her father had decided to go all out and buy her an actual pony. Some people may have called her spoiled at that time, but she really couldn't have been happier. She eventually did have to give away her most prized-possession because Jane had entered her life that year. And Jane never really liked horses.<p>

Another time was when she was thirteen and saw her first murder happen in real life. Someone hadn't been following Jane's orders, and Jane, being the type of person she is, didn't care that their was a child in the room and murdered the man on the spot. From then on, Piper knew Jane was meant to be taken seriously, and that she could do anything to her if she wanted to.

One of the most recent, however, was when Jane actually told _her _to do her first murder, and on Jason Grace of all people. Piper still didn't fully get why Jane asked her to do that, but she was still surprised by the outburst of it.

None of those, she now realizes as she walks her way down the hallway to the interrogation room, was as surprising as Jason Grace wanting to finally talk to her in person. And she had never felt this nervous before. When she entered the room, Jason didn't even look up once the security guard/her escort was dismissed. He was sitting on a chair, hunched over some paperwork, and writing furiously all over it.

"Hello, Piper," Jason said roughly, finishing up his paperwork and still not looking up. Piper had felt a weird tugging lurch in her stomach once Jason had tapped his pen and finally brought his face to meet hers. She couldn't help but stare at him for a while. He looked exactly the same as almost two months ago when she had surrendered, but he somehow seemed... fatigued. As if he would rather be anywhere than right here. And Piper couldn't help but feel the same.

"Hello," she said tartly, finally finding her voice. "Why have you brought me here?" Piper almost wanted to take it back. It was thoroughly obvious, but Piper just wanted to get to the point without making things more awkward than they already were.

"You already know why," he pointed out. She wanted to roll her eyes so bad. But she couldn't find it in her to do it. It wasn't in her place to get annoyed with him; not when she'd done so much to him.

What the hell had happened to her, since she had been put into jail? Had Piper McLean gone... _soft_? _No, _she reprimanded herself. She wouldn't allow herself to dwell on that now. "Well, what else do you want me to tell you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, and Piper could tell that he wanted to say something to her really bad. Something to do with... things that had nothing to do with the real reason why she was being interrogated. She either may have imagined it, or he may have decided to not bring it up now because he replied, his eyes still narrowed, "There was a reason why you surrendered yourself that day. You could have easily gotten away with it, for the time being. I want to know why you did what you did."

Okay, so that was another surprising thing that happened to her. She was not expecting for him to start taking that approach. But she wasn't going to drop this opportunity. She could now tell him everything, now that he was willing to listen. "I did what I did because I needed someone to know. And I trusted you, Jason. In fact, you were the only one I trusted. But I knew that if I told you, I would have to face the consequences. And since Jane's true identity was revealed, I thought it was the best time to tell you. Especially since...since I was free from _her_."

Jason's form didn't flicker once. Piper wasn't expecting it to, but she desperately wished he would believe her. Because he didn't seem to care about a word she said. Either that, or he was just as good an actress as she was.

But this time, Piper wasn't lying. This was one of the statements she said to him that was actually truthful. But she knew he wasn't buying it.

Instead of saying anything about Piper's statement, however, he started speaking of something a little bit different. "Where were you, Ms. McLean, when you took off for 'vacation' outside of prison?" She winced at the harshness of his tone and also how he decided to refer to her to her last name. It put a deeper invisible barrier between the two of them, and Piper didn't like it one bit.

But she supposed she deserved it. "I was speaking with a friend. I haven't seen him in a while, and I felt like I needed to clear things up. I had betrayed him in the past, but I desperately needed him to listen to me. It took him awhile, but I think he's forgiven me for my foolish mistakes."

And that was the first time an emotion flickered on his face since she entered the room. His previously straight face had now begun to gentle out a bit, and his light eyebrows pushed against themselves in concern. "But why did you come back?" He asked in a surprisingly soft voice.

And for a second there, Piper could see right through him. She could now see, and really _see_, the pain she had inflicted upon him. She had really hurt him. And now, Piper realizes that Jason had _wanted _her to never return. He had _wanted _for her to escape the prison and Jason would never have to hear of her again. And this literally brought guilt to a whole new level. But as quickly as this reaction came, it was gone, his face hardening once more. And that made it a hundred times more easier for her to reply.

"I had to. I needed to speak with you. But you didn't want to speak with me, so I knew I had to wait. I needed to tell you about what really happened..." and then she tells him. Just as simple as that. Like water, rushing down a waterfall, as fluent and fast as the current itself.

She started from the beginning; about how she had been getting nightmares about herself and others she cared about (her dad) dying due to a childhood problem, and to how Jane took away her father, claiming she wasn't going to hurt him as long as Piper did what she said, and to the note in her jail cell she had gotten that day she had escaped prison (she left out the conversation with Jane because she herself was confused about that)...All the way to meeting Frank and trying to gain his trust that very same day.

_"Hello. Is Frank Zhang here today? I need to talk to him about something urgent."_

_The desk lady's eyebrows furrowed in concern and replied, "And you are, ma'm?"_

_She opened her mouth to respond what her name was, but then realizing she couldn't, she closed it again, rethinking what she was going to say. "My name is Annabeth, ma'm," she said, "Annabeth Chase. I'm a close friend of his." And that fact was right, because she remembered mentioning Frank around Annabeth and her face lit up in recognition._

_ Seeing the woman's still confused face, she repeated, "And I need to speak with Frank. Is he here today?"_

_She bought it. She gave her a smile and nodded her head, "Why, yes, he's here today. I'll bring you straight up to him."_

_"Thanks." Piper said, following her up to the familiar doors that read 'Manager's Office'._

_The woman had pressed an intercom button that was right next to the door before saying, "Mr. Zhang? There is a woman who would like to see you right now. Her name is Annabeth Chase."_

_After a few seconds later, a man comes back with the response. "Yeah, I know her. You can let her in." The woman outstretches her hand and pushes the door open for Piper. Piper thanks her once more before entering the room alone._

_Frank is sitting behind his desk, writing something down on paper and lifts his head up with a smile outstretched on his face. It drops down once he notices that it's not the one that he expects it to be. "...You're not Annabeth. Who are you?"__ He asked in confusion. It's then that Piper realizes that she was still wearing the disguise and quickly removes it. "You! What are _you _doing here? You're supposed to be in jail for your actions. And not to mention for _framing me_!" he exclaims, standing up with disbelief, his eyes glittering with realization and hatred._

_"Okay, look, I know what this seems to be, but hear me out, alright?"_

_"What?! You _framed _me and you expect me to __'here you out'? I could just call the police you know," he said matter-of-factly and he reached for his phone._

_"No! Look, I escaped out of jail to _talk _to you. And no matter what, I am not going to leave here without you at least listening to me!" Seeing that he was still gripping the phone, Piper added, "Remember when you were in jail, and you kept on repeating to Jason that you were innocent? Remember when he refused to listen to you?"_

_His nose flared a little at that comment, but he replied, "If you're trying to get me to take revenge on him for some reason, I can already tell you it won't work. I have forgiven him."_

_"And you must forgive me! I know it's a lot to ask, but trust me on this: there's a lot more to this case than I had thought. Than we've _all _thought. And we need to find out. Jane, my dad's assistant, is up to something. I don't really know what it is yet, but we _have _to find out. And this affects a lot of people."_

_"This is your problem, not mine."_

_"This is all of our problems! For God's sake, have you thought about your family? Have you thought about your wife? We need to put an end to this, so more people won't get hurt!"_

_There was a deep silence that followed. Finally, Frank loosened his grip on the phone. But once he noticed Piper's relieved face, he said quickly, "I still don't trust you completely, you know."_

_"I get that."_

_"And I'll still hand you over to the police if you give me a reason for it."_

_"I respect that."_

_And once again, all was quiet. And, grudgingly, Frank finally gave in. "I'm listening."_

After Piper was done explaining, Jason had turned away a little, deep in thought. Piper looked at him curiously, but not for long because Jason started to speak. "Wait... so if that's true..." and before she could ask what was going on, he got up from his chair and walked to the door. Then, remembering that Piper was still in the room, he said, "I trust you enough to not leave this room. I'll be back in a second." And he left.

She was still watching the door, herself deep in thought, as she took that in. _"I trust you enough to not leave this room..." _Granted, it was probably only because she herself had escaped out of jail and returned back, so there wasn't any point of trying to escape again, but Piper couldn't help but feel a little hope when he said that.

It wasn't much, but it had to be a start, right?

But she was soon pulled out of that, when Jason returned, he was carrying a small golden tube with him. "What is that?"

"I was actually hoping that you would know, but..." And then he went to tell _his _story about how he had found a purse in the bushes and how, when he was talking to Jane, he found the tube in her hands and it turned out to be from the purse itself. Then, when he looked into the bushes, the purse had went missing.

Piper didn't know what to say after he was done talking, but somehow, she sort of _did _know what he was talking about. She remembered Jane going on and on about some gold jewelry one time when she was eavesdropping on one of her conversations. She didn't know what to think of it at the time, but now she knew.

This gold tube was a very important piece in the mystery. And to start it off, she had to go to where Jane always bought her gold from. She didn't know why Jane was obsessed with buying gold from there, but it had to be important. So her first stop was going to be Omaha, Nebraska where Midas lived. It might not have been the actual source of the problem, but it was definitely worth trying to find out what was.

And after she had told Jason about this, he had seemed relieved, but at the same time... stressed. Piper knew that feeling too well. "Well, then, you can go back to your jail cell now."

"Wait...what?"

"I should be leaving now. I need to find who did this and put a stop to it," he continued on, reaching for his jacket and not even hearing her. "And I'll bring Frank along, too, if he wants. He could help us."

"Wait, no. You need me. I need to come with you guys."

He glanced back at her, but turned away quickly and replied, staring at the door, "you've done enough."

Ignoring the stab in her stomach, "But... you need me," she repeated, "who else knows more information about this guy than I do?"

Jason was still staring at the door for a while before replying softly, "How will I be able to trust you again? How do I know you're not going to do something behind my back..." _Like last time... _Piper could practically hear the unspoken words echoing in her ears, painfully taunting her.

She sighed inaudibly, knowing that he would never be able to trust her like he used to and it wasn't worth trying to make him now, before replying stubbornly, "Listen, Jason Grace. I swear to God, you need to trust me on this. No one knows this place like I do. I've been here so many times. Only I can really, _truly _help you. And I wasn't asking for your permission. I was just stating the facts. I _am_ coming, Jason Grace, whether you like it, or not!"

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><p><strong>...I've always liked writing a stubborn Piper for some reason. It makes her character seem more... amusing (in a good way, that is!). Anyways, so now we have a new trio! This should be good... And I also started a new multi-chap fanfic (Jasper, again xD), and I could use some input about that, too. It's completely new, so I'm not sure about it. I might not be updating that one as much as I'll be updating this one, but I can try to.<strong>

**Anyways, thanks so much for your reviews; they mean so much to me! I love y'all!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	15. Breaking In

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>"First thing's first," Jason said, pulling out a map Piper had given him about this area, "we need to find a way into this."<p>

Piper had switched out her prisoner clothes for a blue shirt, jeans, and a sweater (they had stopped by her house to retrieve something so she changed) and they went to Frank's office. After they had retrieved Frank (it took a lot of bargaining to do, but they somehow managed) they had flown all the way from California to Nebraska. The flight was sort of long, but they found some way to pass the time, considering how tense they were at the moment. Now they were about a block away from the man Piper was talking about, Midas's, mansion.

They stopped for a little while so they could fully plan it out. Right now, they needed some sort of tracking device from Midas's mansion to find wherever they needed to go. And it would definitely be hard to navigate in there; they could see the tip of the mansion even from where they stood. Of course, they had enough time to plan it out in the plane ride, but now... things were becoming more difficult.

For one thing, they didn't even know how to get past all the booby traps that Piper had warned them about. He wished he had brought Leo along with them. He always had had a way with tools. He would've been able to help them out. Considering he _wasn't _there at the moment, they needed to find a different way.

"Wait...where did you say the device would be?" Frank asked Piper, putting his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. _They seem to be awfully close, _Jason thought, observing, _ever since the time when Piper escaped from prison. _But then he scolded himself for thinking such thoughts as he remembered that Frank still had a wife that he loved very much, and Jason didn't think that one week spent with another girl would change that.

But still... Jason was keeping an eye out.

But looking back at Piper, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at her stubbornness. _Why_ had she offered to come with them? Didn't she know what she was getting herself into? She probably did, but she had still offered to join them. Well... not _offered _more like insisted. And that just made it worse._  
><em>

And he was still waiting for signs if she was going to betray them. Just because he brought her along with them, did not mean that he trusted her. He wouldn't fall for a stunt like that again. And when Piper fell asleep on the plane, he had turned to Frank and asked _him _what he thought about Piper tagging along with them. To his surprise, Frank actually seemed to trust Piper. He backed her up and insisted that she changed and that they could trust her.

But that just made him even more annoyed at the two of them.

Piper winced, "It's in his bedroom. It's in the center of the mansion. It's one of the few places that is kept to be private; not even his son is allowed in there."

"Didn't you say he had two children? A daughter?" Jason asked.

"Yeah... he did..." Then she trailed off, deep in thought once again. He wondered what she might have been thinking, but he supposed it was bad, judging by the way her eyebrows had furrowed in anger. She composed herself quickly though, before replying, "That doesn't matter now, though. He only has one son now. His name is Lit. I've met him once before... don't really fancy meeting him again, but there's a big chance we might."

"And why's that?"

"Because he... he's one of the guards of Midas's mansion." _Oh. _He thought back to when Piper mentioned about Midas's daughter. If his son was a guard... Jason didn't think Midas would let his daughter be privileged by not being one. So either the daughter died in a battle... or Midas himself killed her, if she wasn't following orders. Jason shuddered at the thought, but he knew right now wasn't the time.

"So which area does he guard?"

"The very front door. That's the only door that doesn't have as much traps as the others."

"So... we need something to distract this Lit guy," Frank said.

Jason shrugged, "Piper can do it."

Piper looked at him weirdly, with a face that read, _Are you insane? _"And while you guys are doing all the fun stuff? No way."

"Hey, you wanted to come with us. You wanted to help us."

"And this is your definition of 'help'?"

"Technically, yes it is."

"Guys-" Frank tried to interrupt.

"Then why can't _you_ do it?"

"Guys-"

"Because we need people who we can _trust_ in the inside of that mansion."

"But you can trust me!"

"Well, we'll trust you if you can manage to distract that guy."

"You son of a-!"

"Guys!" Frank yelled loud enough to get their attention. "We're getting nowhere with this argument. The more time we spend out here, the more time that whoever is causing this mess will cause even more problems." Then he turned to Piper, "Piper, please. We need you. Otherwise we won't be able to get in without Midas finding out about it," he looked at her with pleading eyes.

She rolled her eyes and replied, defeated, "Fine... But just this once!" And they all stalked to the mansion.

On the way, Jason couldn't help but feel something weird in his stomach. He thought about how easy it was for Piper to agree when _Frank _tried to get her to see some sense. He also remembered how angry Piper looked when he suggested that she be the distraction. He could sort of understand that, but he sort of wished she would understand that the _real _reason that Jason put her outside for distracting Lit, was because that he didn't want her inside.

And it wasn't just because he didn't trust her enough to bring her with them. It was also because... he wanted to protect her from all of the dangers that could possibly happen in the mansion. He knew that was a stupid reason, since she was the _thief _and she handled a lot of stuff from her past, but he couldn't quite shake off the sense of protection for her.

But he knew it wasn't safe to love someone you don't trust. He just wished that wasn't the case.

Once they had gotten to the mansion, they hid around the corner of the gates in the front of the house where a man-Lit was guarding the doors. He had dark curly hair, looked muscular enough, and would have looked handsome, if his face didn't have so many scars. Jason winced as he imagined what could have happened to have earned such a look.

Frank nodded his head to Piper as if to say, _it's your cue, _and Piper reached for her... sweater zipper. And zipped it a little downwards. So that you could see the top portion of her breasts. "What are you doing?!" Jason whispered frantically, his eyes wide.

Piper only shrugged, "You said to distract him," then she pulled down her hoodie and brought her long choppy brown hair, so that it was now falling gracefully on her shoulders. "And if there's anything I know that will distract men, it's cleavage."

"And that's your way of _distracting_?!"

She narrowed her eyes. "You're the one who told me to do this."

"Yes, but I didn't think you were going to do it this way!"

"This was the easiest way I could come up with!" she exclaimed. Noticing his angered face, she added, "Why do _you_ care?"

"I don't!" But his flushed face said otherwise.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous." They continued to glare at each other for a good long moment before Frank finally rolled his eyes.

"Oh my God, we are wasting time! Go, Piper!" Frank practically pushed Piper through the gates and she stumbled a little, but caught herself before Lit could notice. She fought a dazzling smile on her face, and Jason was painfully reminded of the time when they had first met; how she had seemed generally happy meeting him. Now, considering she wasn't happy talking to Lit at all but still managed to look like she was, Jason felt the small disappointment creep into his stomach.

"Hey, Lit! Long time no see!" Piper said as soon as Lit took notice of her.

Lit raised his dark eyebrows in confusion. Obviously, he wasn't expecting to see her so eager to meet him again. "...Piper?"

Piper stuck out her lower lip in a pout and said, "Forgotten me already? I had thought I made an... impression the last time we met."

"If this is some kind of trick..."

"And why would I try to trick someone like you?" she smirked while coming slowly up to him. Even from where Jason was standing, he could see the way her hips swayed seductively as she walked, and scowled as the dark-haired man lost his guarding stance for a second, letting his eyes roam down her curvy figure. His eyes had stopped noticeably at her chest before his iris's darkened.

"I could think of many reasons."

"Name one."

But he didn't even seem to be listening to her. He was too focused on the way she was walking towards him. Then she stopped right in front of him, so all Lit had to do was walk one step forward and then they would be pressed against each other. Just by the way he was staring at her, Jason could tell it wouldn't just be some hugging-reunion type of thing. There would be some major touching involved.

Frank seemed to notice Jason's annoyed face and shook his shoulder violently. "Snap out of it! We need to get inside. We need to get that tracking device, remember?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah," Jason said, his eyes still not leaving Piper and Lit's conversation. Piper had now snaked her hands, slowly, around his neck and dug her fingers through his hair. Lit completely lost it. Jason could tell that he's been wanting for this to happen for a _long _time. He could see it in his eyes, which were now full of nothing but lust and want.

Jason snorted in disgust before tearing away his gaze and looking back at Frank, who was now raising his eyebrow at him. "Well, let's go." Then they crept along the grass together.

They made sure to avoid any trap that was in their way; they skirted around unfamiliar patches and tiptoed cautiously when they felt they were safe. Frank had saved his life a couple of times as well (he was still stealing glances in Piper and Lit's direction). A couple of times, Jason was positive Lit had heard them, and whenever he turned around to see the source of the noise, Piper would stop him and do something else with her body that made Lit forget all about them for the time being.

But one time, Jason was sure he almost triggered something, so he jumped back fast. The sudden movement caused his handcuffs to fall out of his belt, so it made a _jangle _sort of noise. And it was loud. Immediately, Lit turned his head to see who it was, but Piper stopped him.

How? But pulling his face away from the noise and smashing her lips against his. At first Lit was hesitant, but eventually he too wrapped his arms around her and his fingers were slowly inching its way down her body.

Jason was sure he made some type of retching noise in the back of his throat. But he soon broke out of his reverie once he felt Frank tugging on his arm. "Come on, let's go. She won't be able to distract him for long."

Jason muttered something along the lines of, "she's doing a heck of a job right now", but followed Frank anyways without any hesitation.

It had taken them about an hour of looking for the center of the mansion, and it was so _quiet _that Jason was suspecting that something was up. How hadn't Lit been suspicious by now? Was he still getting 'distracted' by Piper? What the hell were they _doing _that was taking this long? Wait-no. Actually, Jason didn't want to know the answer to that question. Yet at the same time, he found himself _really _wanting to know what they were doing. He swore to God, if they got out of there alive, he was going to walk up to Lit and smack him to death.

But... that's the thing. They hadn't encountered _anybody _or anything suspicious. Jason started to wonder if Piper was wrong after all. Maybe this was really an innocent family after all. Maybe they didn't do anything wrong. Or maybe this was all just a trap...

But he didn't have time to ponder over that, because Frank had finally opened a door that had a huge bed in it. Jason took a look inside of it and he stopped short. Everything, and he meant _everything_, was made out of gold. The ceiling, the "wooden" floors, the dresser, the door... everything. It was a beautiful sight, but Jason suddenly remembered why exactly they were there.

Mystery. Jane. Gold. Tracking Device. Right. And they had begun searching. At first, it was plain hopeless. They couldn't find anything unusual. He had begun to give up hope when Frank pointed to something on the other side of the room. "Have you checked there?"

It was a chest. Made of gold, of course. But this was different. It was more... elaborated. There were fancy designs all over it... familiar. It was then that Jason realized that they were the same exact designs he had seen on the missing purse in the bushes.

_No, _Jason thought, _I have _not _looked there._

But before he or Frank could even _think _about walking over to the chest, they were interrupted by a loud, rusty voice.

"And just what you two men think you are doing?"

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><p><strong>So how was this chapter? I added a lot of JasonPiper jealousy stuff since I realized the previous chapters were lacking a lot of it. So I hoped you Jasper fans enjoyed that a bit, considering you don't read a lot about _Jason _getting jealous. So that's that.**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	16. Tasers Are Good For Revenge

**A/N: This chapter will continue to be in Jason's POV instead of Piper's because I guess I sort of left it at a cliffhanger last chapter, and I'm too lazy to explain in the next chapter about what's supposed to happen now. Hope you like! xP**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p><em>"And just what you two men think you are doing?"<em>

Oh, shit. They were caught. Jason and Frank turned slowly to the man that was standing there, watching them with an irritated expression on his face that showed Jason that he had been there, observing them for a while. What Jason observed of the man, he was nothing but an old man wearing a bathrobe that matches his long white beard, and says in capital bold golden letters on the right side of the robe, _MIDAS_. In other words: incredibly rich.

He had dealt with a lot of rich people in the past, but this was different. He wasn't trying to get the man in jail-not yet, at least-but this time, he was just trying to be the thief himself. He himself was trying to steal something. And it felt wrong, because he wasn't really used to this. Sure, he had done detective discoveries before, but it wasn't as intense as this. Not to mention he got caught.

He decided to scold himself later about his naive-ness. He had other things to worry about at the moment. Like how the hell they were going to get out of the situation. "Well, sir, we were looking for something. You see, our friend is in trouble and we were wondering whether you could help us." He decided to use the innocent card, but he knew his lie wasn't good at all, for he could see Frank flinch beside him in annoyance.

It wasn't his fault, though. Lying wasn't his type of thing. It was Piper's. Now he was really starting to regret not bringing her with them inside. The man, Midas, only smirked, which only reassured Jason that he was a terrible liar. "You mean the 'friend' who's currently sucking my son's face off?" he said, using air quotes.

Jason flinched. Okay... either this man was a psychic, or he had been watching them for longer than he thought.

"Don't think I don't know what you are really here for. I know you want that tracking device," he stated, nodding towards the golden chest, "I just want to know why."

Frank glanced at Jason. They had both come up with a mutual agreement; they needed to stall. "How come you haven't done anything, or exposed anything since we came here? You knew we were here. Why didn't you do anything? And why haven't you done anything to Piper yet?"

"Oh, I think she's getting punished enough out there," he said, his lips pursed in a disgusted manner, and Jason couldn't have agreed more. Obviously he didn't like his son that much for him to say such a thing. "And stop changing the subject. I asked you first."

There was no backing out of it now. "Well... you know Jane?" Frank started.

Midas nodded again. "I'm familiar with her, yes. She's one of my most frequent jewelry customers. Go on."

Jason continued, "she sent us here. She needed the tracking device to find where... her boss is." Half a lie. Jane wasn't going to use the tracking device; they were, but they still technically needed it to find where her boss was.

Midas raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? How do I know you are not lying, Mr. Jason Grace?" Jason frowned. So he knew his name. Well, this just keeps getting better and better.

"Because frankly sir, I'm a terrible liar. You should already know that by now."

"Indeed, I do." But Midas, instead of throwing them off, or even killing them, did something that surprised him. He walked straight to the chest, opened it, and brought a small device out of it... a GPS.

They've come all this way just for a GPS. He decided to not be too disappointed in it, considering he didn't even know what was yet to discover about it. He couldn't think much of it, though, because Midas just simply walked up to Jason and put it in his palm. "Is that what you want?"

He frowned and looked at him suspiciously. Surely, there was a catch to this right? Of course, there was. There was no way that Midas would just... _give _it to them. "What do _you_ want?"

Midas gave them a toothy grin, exposing his bright golden teeth. _Is this man _made _out of gold as well? _Jason thought in ridicule. "Must there always be something?"

"Yes. There is no way you are just giving it to us," Frank spoke up, his eyebrow raised, maintaining his guarded stance. Jason had to admire that about him. He would make a great partner in things like this, the way he acts. He would be sure to keep that in mind.

"Well, not this time."

Jason pursed his lips before he reached in his pocket and pulled out a gun. "You see this? It's brand new. Just bought it. There are about six bullets in this thing, fully loaded, and I'm not afraid to try it on you." Then he put his finger on the trigger (not pressing it, of course) and pointed it at the man. "Now tell me. What's the catch?"

Midas's grin had now been pulled back into a mischievous smirk, seemingly not even caring that there was a man threatening him with a gun. "I simply want to see how you are going to do this. You and I both know that this is a real expert you are dealing with. This isn't some random amateur thief that you normally arrest. You are dealing with a professional. There has been many who went after this person. All of them came here as well. And I did the same exact thing as I did with you," he said, nodding his head once more towards the GPS.

"I've never heard of this case before. How could there have been someone going after them that I have not heard of?"

"Exactly," Midas replied, his eyes glowing with sick anticipation, "So your question is why I'm not stopping you right now? It's because there is absolutely no point. And no 'pretty face' like yourself will ever change that." And with that, he walked straight back into his bathroom from which he supposedly came from, like he hadn't even seen them.

Jason's eyes had now narrowed so much that he could barely even see through his eyelashes anymore. He made a start towards the massive bathroom doors, his gun gripped tight in his hand, but Frank held him back. He gave him a look. "We'll come back. I promise. Right after we solve all of this. We'll make sure he gets paid back for what he said. But right now is not the time. We have other things to focus on. Let's leave while we can."

Jason muttered something of annoyance but chose that it was best to just let it be. For now. As they were walking towards the doors to leave the room, something had caught his eye in the corner. He walked closer to it to get a better look. It was a taser. It was nothing too bad, it was the small kind; the kind meant to just electrify the person and make him unconscious for a while, but nothing too bad.

Still, he took it in his hand and slipped it into his other pocket. Frank raised his eyebrow at him, but decided not to question it, and they walked out of the room together.

Once they had gotten outside of the mansion and into the front yard once again, the first sight made him immediately want to go back inside. Apparently, not much had happened since they were inside of the mansion, because Piper and Lit were _still _going at it, but their hands kept roaming fast on the other's body. Lit had sat down in a chair (which confirmed Jason that he was _really _distracted if he forgot that he was supposed to be guarding), and Piper's legs were wrapped tightly around his waist, sitting on his lap. Her jacket was off, revealing her tanned arms and her low cut T-shirt.

Jason rolled his eyes. Out of all things she could have picked out when they were at her house, she had to pick _that _shirt? And how could they still be making out for hours straight? Okay, only one hour, but it was still long in his opinion.

But now that they were out in the open and no longer had to distract Lit, he felt like he could do everything he wanted to do to the 'happy couple' since they had gotten inside of the mansion. But he also knew that if he _did _do those things, _he'd_ probably be sentenced in jail for execution. So he settled for the first 'safe' thing that came in mind.

He walked/jogged towards them, not even caring if he possibly set off a thousand bombs right there, but he only had one picture in mind. Lit. On the ground. Unconscious. So with that happy thought, he pulled out his handy taser he had retrieved from Midas's room and stabbed Lit in the neck with a satisfying _zzzzt _sound. He smirked as the curly-haired man slipped down onto the ground, face first, with a _plop_, and Piper jumped off of him and pressed her lips together and blew a raspberry. She then gathered up the spit and shot it to the ground.

And as disgusting as that should have looked seeing her spit like that, he sort of felt relieved. He, of course, already knew that Piper didn't like Lit, but seeing them pressed together like that, brought doubts into Jason's mind. "Ugh, that was disgusting," she said, reaching for her jacket and covering herself up.

"I know. I didn't think you could have held your breath for any longer. He was all on top of you," Frank said behind him, startling Jason who hadn't even known that he was following him, glaring at Lit's body in a disgusted way.

Piper still had that contorted face, one that had matched Jason's only a few seconds ago before he had zapped Lit, and said in a matter-of-factly tone, "I'm never distracting again. Not if it comes to that."

_Agreed,_ Jason thought to himself, annoyed that he had really let her do such a thing.

"So did you guys get it? Where is it?" she changed the topic, looking at both of them expectantly.

Jason brought it out and gave it to her to look at. She examined it for a while, then asked, "How did you get it?"

"He just... gave it to us. Like... handed it over." Frank said.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "...That easily? What really happened?" Jason frowned, and explained him and Midas's conversation. "And you didn't do anything about it?"

"Well, I was going to, but Little Miss Nobility over here, claimed that we shouldn't," Jason gestured to Frank.

He glared at him. "I said we could _hold it off_, and that it wasn't the time. Stop over-exaggerating things."

Piper rolled her eyes but smiled in a playful manner. Jason frowned deeper at that, now realizing that she hadn't smiled at him once since he had arrested her, and it was strange to see her smiling. It didn't have the same effect, though, because it wasn't really directed at Jason. It was directed at Frank.

And he still knew that he couldn't trust her as much as before, but she hadn't sold them out yet, so it could mean a start. He wouldn't allow himself to be too open with her, but he could trust her enough to be on the same mission with him. Until proven otherwise, that is.

"So anyways," she said, the previous light mood, now darkening due to the coming tension, "is the next place our final destination, now that we figured this out?"

Jason nodded. All there was left now, was to finally find out who started this problem. And then hopefully, they'd be done and they could go back to their normal lives. _And I'd never really have to see Piper again. _That thought made his hand pause on its way to the GPS. He'd never have to see Piper again. He glanced back up to both of them and Piper gave him a look that read, _well, what are you waiting for?_

He mentally shook his head, and decided that he would have to figure out his mixed feelings for the girl later. Right now, they had a job to do. He reached for the GPS and looked at it for a while before finally turning it on. And so, after doing another handful of tests with the golden tubes and figuring out where they had to go with the help of the information Piper had gotten from Jane about it, he turned to them with a solemn face.

"Well, it looks like the last stop we need to go to, is in a warehouse where she sells a lot of useless junk, but we're probably going to find out why. The woman's name is Medea. Have you heard of her?"

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><p><strong>Shout out to Writer's Wrath, who was the first person to guess Medea as Jane's bossmain villain in this story. I used it as her since Jane was already working for Medea in the original series so I supposed it would fit. Great job!**

**So I finally finished most of the rising action in this story, so all there's left now, is the main climax all the way to the final resolution. So I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you stick around for more! And if I'm worth it, please leave a review!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin **


	17. Disguises

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>She should have <em>known<em> that trying to sneak in a huge factory/warehouse with nothing but a couple of guns, a taser, a metal/gold GPS, and absolutely _no _security guards (well there were, but they seemed _way_ too mature to fall for seduction) that could get easily distracted would have been infinitely close to impossible. She knew what she was signing up for when she insisted that she come with the two men, but she didn't think it was going to be this hard.

The factory/warehouse was about five times bigger than Midas's mansion and with its tall heavy built walls, and barbed wire that surrounded them (which made the ones that guarded the prison back in their town look like nothing but a minor mouse trap) screamed attention. Nearby pedestrians looked up at the factory in awe, obviously not getting that this was one of the most dangerous places in the entire nation, or world for all they knew.

She felt bad for the people that lived near the warehouse, though. There was smoke everywhere; the sky looked black even though her watch read _2:00 PM, _and there was random trash everywhere on the road. It was more disgusting than the 'friendly' encounter with her and Lit. Well..._almost _more disgusting.

When Piper finally finished taking in her surroundings, she turned to Jason and Frank. "So...how exactly are we going to play this out?"

"I have no idea," Frank said aloud, voicing all of their thoughts.

The original plan was the same as the last one to get into the mansion. Someone needed to stay behind to distract, while the others get inside and find out exactly what's going on. That, obviously, was not going to work, now that they actually _looked _at what they were dealing with. All Piper had to do was glance at their faces once and the idea was clear to all of them; All three of them go in, all three of them go out. Together.

Piper let out a sigh; this was hopeless. "Well, we can't exactly sneak in. We'd get caught before we'd even step through those gates."

They nodded in return. It was silent for a while, and Piper felt all of her hopes drowning, just draining straight down the sink from where they came from. Jason turned to them once more, but with a startling determination look on his face that surprised her. "That's it, then. We need to get caught."

Frank and Piper shot each other an alarmed look before turning to Jason. "Um, what? Isn't that what we're trying _not _to do? To _not _get caught?" Frank asked.

Jason just rolled his eyes. "No, the plan was that we needed information. Is that not it?" They nodded, still not sure where he was going with this. "Well, if we try to sneak in, they'd probably just try to kill us and put us in their own little prison. No, we need to go up to _them_. We need to get them as allies first, and then we can get some information out of this. And if we find all we need, I could just call Leo or Percy or somebody and tell them everything." Still seeing their unsure faces, he added, "It's not much, but it's all we've got. Unless, you two have something better."

"Well...it's not that bad, but it's a lot more riskier this way. Fooling people isn't that easy. It's really hard trying to get into their point of view about things and agreeing with them, all at the same time, trying to act like you actually care about them," she tried to reason with him.

Jason narrowed his eyes, "Well, it shouldn't be so hard for you, since you have so much experience with it."

She frowned, and opened her mouth to say that he wasn't being really fair with her, considering it was only half of her fault for that, since she was forced to work for Jane. She didn't get the chance to, of course, because Frank interrupted them with a perturbed look. "Guys. You can cat-fight about this another time. Preferably when we exit out of this place alive, and with the information we need to end this all."

Piper shot Frank another grateful look to which he returned, earning another irritable glance from Jason in the corner of her eye. _What's his problem?_ she thought, even though she sort of knew. It was obvious, judging by the way he acted when she was flirting/'groping' Lit all the way to acting playful with Frank. She just didn't want to believe it. If he was going to continue acting like he didn't care about what happened to her, then so would she. Even if it did prove to be difficult sometimes.

During the past week when she was spending time with Frank, however, it had been both pleasant and annoying at the same exact time. Annoying, because he refused to help her at first and acted like she was trash most of the time, but pleasant when it was one of those rare moments when he actually _understood_ her. He knew what it was like to be blamed on things that weren't really your fault, and he took sympathy on her. Sometimes. But those were the only times he wasn't being rude to her.

And when she finally got him to trust her, and completely too, she couldn't have been more satisfied with their relationship. Of course, she didn't see him in a romantic type of sense, for she already had her eyes reluctantly on someone... _special_, and he already had a wife that he loved, so she saw no point in feeling that way towards him. It wasn't because he wasn't good, it was just because he wasn't...well, she didn't really want to finish that thought.

Especially not when there was so much going on right now.

"Alright, whatever, if we're going to do this, let me do the talking. For one: no offense, Jason, but you're lying skills suck, and two: because Jane's my dad's assistant. And Jane is supposedly working for this Medea woman, so I'm your best shot," she finally spoke after another moment of silence.

They both agreed (Jason reluctantly) and Piper spoke again. "Another thing. Jason, you need to wear a disguise."

He raised his eyebrows, "Why me?"

"Because it seems like everywhere we go, the main reason why people don't trust us, is because _you're _here. I'm pretty sure people here don't exactly _fancy _a cop in their presence."

"Well, where the hell am I supposed to find a costume shop?"

She shrugged, "I think I saw a Walmart like two blocks away when we were walking here. Knock yourself out."

He made a start to walk away from them, going to go find the store when Frank called him back. "What now?" Jason asked tiredly.

"Maybe we should go with you. I mean, who knows how long you're going to take, and people might get suspicious if we stay out here for too long."

Jason shrugged, "Alright, then. Let's go to Walmart."

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><p>They were hopeless shoppers. They were obviously clueless when it comes to disguises. Piper rolled her eyes at this, but reasoned it was probably because they spent most of their time being the good guys, and not getting what trouble the 'bad guy' has to go through. It was tough business. Anything could go wrong at any moment. It wasn't easy to steal a bank, or mall, or even in a house. And it especially wasn't easy to break into a full-on factorywarehouse.

So Piper, being the skilled shopper that she is, was forced to help Jason out. It took like an hour, but they finally did it. And when he came out of the store's bathroom after buying the supplies, she tried her best to stifle a laugh.

Jason walked out, wearing a plain white T-shirt and jeans with a hoodie. He had combat boots on with his shoelaces untied, just like Piper instructed him. Piper could tell that he wanted to tie them really bad, but she forced him not to. Not only did he need to not look like himself, he needed to act like it. But if that wasn't weird enough, one glance up at his face would completely startle you.

Piper had picked out black dye for him (he complained about how he couldn't have worn a wig, but Piper scolded him saying that anyone could see right through it) and green contacts. She even made him wear concealer to hide the scar on his upper lip, because that probably would have been a giveaway. He also messed up his hair a little, so instead of his hair looking all neat-and-tidy, it looked wild enough that some of his overgrown hair started to fall in his 'green' eyes, making him look a tad bit mischievous.

"I look like Percy," he said, his face completely blank.

Frank was too busy laughing his head off in the corner, so Piper spoke up, a big smile spreading across her lips, satisfied with her handy work. "Nah, you could never pull that off," then she walked up to him, and reached up and ruffled his hair with her hand, admiring how soft and rough it happened to be at the same exact time. "But at least it's a start, right?"

Jason started to smile along with her before his face all of a sudden became hardened once more. She was confused as to why at first, but then she noticed. She was so close to him that she could see the small dark circles under his eyes. She suddenly felt an urge to lift her hand up and touch the part of his lip where the scar was supposed to be, just to see if she could still feel the curve of it under the concealer. She lifted her eyes to meet his, but found that he was also watching her with the same intense stare, but his expression unreadable.

They were interrupted by a clearing of the throat. "If you guys are done flirting with each other, we should be on our way now," Frank said, already sobered up from his previous chuckling. "What's next, Piper?"

She stepped quickly away from Jason, scolding herself for thinking such impossible things before finally turning to Frank fully. Soon, she got her head back into the game and replied, "Right. Now, we need some sort of... offering. Like a sacrifice. So they absolutely _know _they could trust us. Like maybe a...cop...or a security guard?"

Jason's head immediately turned to her and glared at her. "Wait. I didn't have to wear this disguise? I could have been something else?"

She shrugged, "It doesn't matter now. You're already in the costume. There's no point in arguing." He muttered some colorful curses to her, but other than that, he didn't fight back.

"So you mean me, then?" Frank spoke up. They both gave him sad glances, for he had the most disadvantage for being a fugitive. "Eh, I guess I could do it. I mean, I've been held prisoner before. I can handle this."

Piper gave him another comforting smile and squeezed his hand. "Thanks."

Once they had gotten back to the factory, she called to Jason one last time. "I need your handcuffs to put them on Frank." After putting Frank's hands together and putting the handcuffs on with a satisfying _click_, she turned to them once more, ready to give them a mini pep talk about what was about to happen. "Alright. Once we get in there, there's no going out, so do we have everything we need?"_  
><em>

They both nodded in unison, and Piper continued, "Once we get in there, we're most likely going to get separated, and there's a ninety-nine percent chance that someone will suspect something. And they could be really secretive about it. You have no idea what could happen if they find out who you are."

Frank and Jason exchanged looks with each other, but again reluctantly nodded. She glanced between the two of them and saw their hardened and determined face. But Piper, knowing how exactly this felt and what they were about to go through, knew that all of them were somewhat nervous, even if they did their best to hide it. She needed to give them one last look of reassurance before she rang that huge doorbell beside the gates.

"We can do this, alright? We may be separated in that huge factory, but I swear to God, if we try our best in this, we will all get out of here alive. And if, after we're done with all of this, one of us finds an escape plan, _no one _is getting left behind. We came here together, and we will leave here together, is that understood?"

They nodded their heads again, and Piper suddenly felt like she was a mother telling two little kids what to do. But it felt good, not having to rely on Jason for directions all the time. It felt good being the leader for once. Good, but incredibly overwhelming. If this went wrong, it would be pointed to her, and she'd have _another _thing to add on her guilt list.

Keeping that in mind, she turned her back from them and finally rang the doorbell, signaling one of the security guards to walk towards them, finally taking notice of them. Once they opened the gates, Piper felt a spark of hope.

They didn't exactly have a plan to this, once they entered the factory. But they had a start. They had an advantage. They were the ones with the upper-hand at the moment, while the ones inside of the factory gates, didn't have a clue of what they were getting into. Of course, that could change in a matter of minutes or maybe even seconds, but that didn't matter at the moment.

Because she had faith in Frank and Jason, and hopefully, they had faith in her.

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><p><strong>Another filler chapter, but I needed some details about their plan to get in, so I hope it wasn't too boring. And I put a small Jasper moment there, but I think it was too small. But don't worry, there'll be more to come. Review, please!<strong>

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	18. Poisoned and Jinxed

**A/N: This chapter will be in Jason's POV in the beginning and Frank's POV in the middle, then shifting back to Jason's. Just letting you know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>Working inside of the factory was surprisingly less nauseating than looking at the factory. In fact, it wasn't even that bad at all. Well, compared to outside. He had no idea how that was, considering all the pollution he saw from the window itself, but he was determined to look into it.<p>

When he was working on the bottom floors the first couple of days he was there, it was nothing but an antique shop. Nothing suspicious there. He should know; he spent hours on end just dusting off the vases. Upstairs, he couldn't really look into yet.

When they had arrived at the factory, it turned out that Piper was right. They immediately recruited them, not recognizing Jason, of course, but noticing Piper. They started to compliment her on her thievery work, and Jason felt ultimately disgusted. They thought stealing from other people was a good thing? He did not entirely get thieves, but he could tell that most of the people who worked there (which all happened to be thieves or some type of criminal) stole for _fun_. And that just made him even more annoyed at the people.

So even with Piper being a thief and all, they still couldn't trust them just yet. They still needed an "offering" like Piper had warned him about, and he was suddenly glad that they were one step ahead of the problem and had Frank, whom they gladly took after Piper described what he was. That just left Jason, then.

She just claimed that he was a friend of hers that sometimes helped her on missions and stuff. They immediately took notice of his looks, and for the first time, he was glad that he didn't look like himself at that moment. He could tell from their looks just exactly what they were thinking of him at the moment; some random, mischievous man that didn't take great care of his hair, and barely knew how to tie his own shoes. They took him in with a grin.

And just like that, the three of them were separated, but if Jason was in their position, he probably would have done the same. He wouldn't have been stupid enough to put them together like that, so they wouldn't have any chance of escaping together. He had to respect that. But that didn't help the reason that poor Frank was probably cooped up in some random hidden prison cell, not having any idea what was going on.

And not just that, but Piper was completely separated from Jason as well. He suspected she was working in the top floors where he had heard from his lovely jealous cleaning partners where all the "good stuff" was at. He couldn't help but agree with them. She most certainly had a better job than cleaning a couple of dusty old antique stuff, moping around about the occasional rat or other rodent he thought was extinct manure they had to clean. Yep, his life was great.

Especially when there were people watching them constantly, as if not trusting one another so he didn't really get a chance to find out what was going on with the whole Medea situation. Not to mention he didn't even _see _Medea once. When he mentioned it to his cleaning buddies, they just looked at him as though he had killed their mothers. Obviously they did not want to talk about her.

That was until one of the men came up to him later that first day and told him that she doesn't show her face around the building unless she meant serious business. The man said that she reminded him of the camp Warden, Kissin' Kate Barlow, from the novel_ Holes_. **(A/N: That was actually a pretty cool book that I read a long time ago. I recommend you read it.) **

He thanked the man, whose name when he asked for it was Nico, for finally telling him something when no one else would. Nico shrugged and told him that it wasn't a big deal, and that he had that same situation himself when he was first recruited in the factory.

The first four days after that were uneventful. Same old routine everyday. Wake up at like 6:00 AM, put on their factory uniforms, and dust off the antiques until 2:00 PM. Then, they had a quick fifteen minute break for lunch and then continued doing other stuff Medea had assigned to them at the beginning of the day. Then at 8:00 PM it was an hour dinner break. Finally, they had to quickly brush off the antique store before they could go to sleep.

Boys and girls slept separately, of course, so he didn't get to see Piper then. He didn't get to see her much at meal times either (he only met her eye, but she would turn away and wouldn't do anything else to acknowledge him) because it would have been too suspicious, even if they had been recruited together. But at least he knew she was okay, just by looking at her.

But as he was dusting off another desk for like the tenth time on the fifth day, he noticed something strange between the cracks on the sides of the desk. He could recognize a crack like that from anywhere. He glanced at the others around him to see if they noticed his hesitation at dusting the desk, but they themselves seemed occupied in their work, so Jason took another look at it.

Inside of the crack was a small crumpled piece of paper that seemed to be dangling from it. Jason walked around the desk and opened the drawer, all the while pretending that his purpose was just to dust it off. The paper that was seen through the crack fell neatly into the drawer after he lightly shook the desk. When Jason took the paper in his hands, it had read nothing but a combination of numbers, _10, 34, 10_.

Now he was pissed. This could mean anything. And even if it was something that was important to their task at the moment, he didn't have any idea what to use it for. Nonetheless, he still kept it with him just in case.

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><p><em>Here we go again, <em>Frank thought, annoyed at the couple in the jail cell opposite of him, who were fighting with each other _again_. He glanced at his other neighbors and they also had the same irritable face as he did. He just wished they would _shut up _and continue on with their lives.

Honestly, they were acting a lot like Jason and Piper now that he thought of it. It was annoying how they kept on snapping at each other for the most unreasonable reasons, and _Frank_ was always the one that had to fix them up. At least until the next time they found something else to fight about. And even though they acted as if they hated the other's mere existence, he knew that was way beyond the truth. He just wished that they could see it too.

That was only one thing that annoyed him that day. The other thing was that he was stuck in jail. Again. The first time was that he was framed for something he didn't do. Because of Piper. The second time (which was this time, of course) was that he had to pretend to be a offering or sacrifice so that the others could get recruited. Because of Piper.

And it wasn't like he was feeling any sort of bitterness towards the Cherokee woman, he just sort of felt miffed was all. But he had already come with good terms with Piper, and it seemed right that he would have to be the offering, so he just shoved down his "miff-ness" for now.

But if there was anything he learned from jail, was that it was a great time for thinking. And thinking, and thinking, and thinking. His brain hurt for doing nothing all week, but thinking. Constantly. He tried to push away all of the annoying stuff that's been happening since he had gotten there (hence the _still _arguing couple), so he focused on happy thoughts.

About his love, his wife, Hazel. Oh, how he missed her so much. He left a note by the bedside table before he left to go with Jason and Piper, and he hoped that she would understand why he left. His heart sunk as he could imagine the confused but sad face on his wife as she read the note, wondering why he left without a warning. He didn't explain the details about where they were going, so he sort of lied to her. And that just made it a hundred times worse.

He hoped she would forgive him if he came back to her. No, _when _he came back to her. He may be in jail at the moment, but that did not render him useless. He would make sure of it.

He was interrupted from his courageous thoughts, however, when he heard a light thumping of footsteps walking towards them, and the couple (thankfully) quieted down. Apparently not enough, because the person who was walking towards them, walked straight up to couple and yelled in their faces, "Gleeson, Mellie! You're fighting like an old married couple! Save the din for later, will ya? Unless you want me to go get Medea."

Frank flinched when they mentioned her name, but decided it best to be quiet and keep on listening subtly. The man, Gleeson he supposed, replied, "Alright, listen here, cupcake. You don't tell me what to do and what not to do. You can get Medea for all I care. But you go and tell her that I ain't comin' to her funeral a minute later."

The guard raised his eyebrow. "You dare talk back to me?"

"I believe I just did."

As much as Frank didn't like Gleeson or his female counterpart, Mellie, he had to respect him for talking like that to the guard. It took him a lot of courage to do that. But then again, a lot of the people here were criminals that probably went to jail countless times. He didn't think that they'd care less about what they said to the guards anymore.

The guard surprisingly laughed for a second before replying, "I like your spirit, old man," then he took a swig of his canteen in his hand. All was quiet except for Gleeson throwing daggers at the guard, just practically begging for the man to die right there. Apparently his wish was answered because the man suddenly was grabbing his throat and choking out some of the liquid.

Frank quickly looked back at Gleeson, finding some reason that it was his fault, though that couldn't possibly true. Because even Gleeson looked surprised at what was going on. Frank looked back at the guard, whose lips and throat had started to become purple. Okay, now something was definitely wrong. The guard was seemingly walking towards the sleeping quarters, right past the prison cells, so it was obvious someone had planned for them to drink the liquid in the sleeping quarters, where no one could see.

Not out in the open where all of the prisoners were watching intently at the scene. Some prisoners, Frank noticed, were looking at the guard more intently than others, their eyes glittering with malice. That made him slightly more suspicious as well, but that couldn't have been possible either. All of the prisoners had been inside of the jail cells at all times, except when they had duties to fulfill. No one could leave without proper supervision. So who could have possibly poisoned the guard, who had now slumped back slightly, then tripped over himself and fell, unconscious?

All of the drinks and the food were offered in the cafeteria and no one was allowed to bring their own food, so that could only mean one thing. The cafeteria people poisoned the food, especially for this man. And who controlled the cafeteria and what the guards ate? Medea.

He figured he was probably over-thinking it, but he could never be too sure. So either way, he watched the canteen roll his way, stopping in an easy arm's-length away from him. He reached through the bars of his cell, and picked up the canteen, unsure of what to do with it. "What the hell are you doing, young man? Did you not just see that man pass out unconscious? Are you crazy?" A woman from the right side of his jail cell said to him, her eyes wide open.

He was barely listening, though. He just knew that this was a clue. It had to be. If getting poisoned by a drink wasn't suspicious enough that something was wrong in the factory, he didn't know what was. "I guess I am."

* * *

><p>Ever since Jason had found that note in the cracks of that desk, his mind had opened to a lot more possibilities. He had been going back to that room a lot more often, and he saw many more clues. For one, he saw a man, who had come to buy from them in the antique store, buy one of the most rattiest, disgusting round table ever. There was a group of moss and fungus growing under the table as well, that made Jason want to barf immediately.<p>

Even though he was selling it to him, he couldn't help but feel curious. "Not that I'm questioning your judgment, sir, but why would you choose to buy this? There are plenty of other options of tables to choose from."

"Yes, but not all of them have the same deals as this one. And who cares about it being a tad bit dirty? I can always clean it up later." Jason wanted to point out that it was way too old to be cleaned, but figured he would just be wasting time, judging by how eager the man looked to leave.

That man, who had been one of the most frequent shoppers there but mostly chose to only browse, had not returned ever since. It had been two weeks since that encounter, and he was starting to suspect something. Probably he hadn't come there often anymore because of the disgusting fungus and such, so Jason couldn't really blame him.

He had left that incident alone ever since.

But one time when he was done using the bathroom and headed back to his shift for the day, he was run into and dragged into what seemed like a closet. He was about to turn around and smack whoever had done this to him, when the lights turned on. Standing before him, was Piper. "Piper? What are you doing here?"

"We need to go see Frank. Now."

"What? Why?"

"Because I think I found something important."

"Well, what is it?"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of cash and dumped it into his hand. "I was working with this man on the top floor and was selling something to him when he gave me this."

"So? It's money, Piper. Of course he'd give you money if you were selling something to him."

"No, but that's not all. After I sold it to him, the most _weirdest _thing happened. He just walked a few steps and then he just collapsed."

"Okay... I get how _that _would be strange, but why are you handing me his money?"

"It happened after he handed me the money. It was like...the store was jinxed or something."

"Jinxed?" Jason said incredulously, "Don't tell me you actually believe in that sort of stuff."

Piper stomped her foot impatiently. "Oh my God, Jason. Don't you see? Medea doesn't care about selling her stuff to people. She's playing them! She's just pretending to sell it to them, when really, she's just snatching away their money." Then she paused. "That's actually a pretty good strategy, now that I think of it. A lot more easier than stealing. Why didn't I think of that before?"

Jason rolled his eyes; once a thief, always a thief. Even if they did choose to change a little. But what Piper was saying made a little sense. After all, it did explain how the man bought that desk for a "good deal" and never returned. Even if he did come there before, he never bought anything, so it wouldn't affect him.

Before they could talk more about it, the doorknob clicked and opened. It was too late for them to react, so when it did open, they were surprised to see a shocked looking Nico, staring at them with confusion. "Um, Jason? What are you doing here with...a woman? If Medea finds out, she'll kill you. You know the rules."

He rolled his eyes again. "We weren't doing anything, you perverted little freak. We were just...talking."

"Right. In a closet. With the lights barely turned on," Nico smirked, while Jason and Piper frowned slightly. But he supposed it was better Nico thought that they were doing...other stuff than discussing ways to blackmail Medea, so he didn't exactly protest and neither did she.

"Yes. That was exactly what we were doing," Piper said, her voice not hiding a little bit of annoyance, "Now would you go already?"

Nico grabbed a sweeper and a duster in the corner of the closet and turned to them once more, lowering down the lights for them teasingly so it stopped in what Leo would call a 'romantic setting'. "Right, then. I'll leave you two alone to...talk," and before he shut the door he called to Jason one last time and said, "have fun, you two bunnies! Make sure to be careful!"

Jason scowled even though Nico couldn't see them anymore and turned to Piper again, trying his best to ignore the oncoming awkward situation between them. "Sorry about that. He can be a lunatic sometimes. So we have to go see Frank now?"

Piper nodded, but held up a hand. "Wait five minutes. We can't go up together, or else it would seem suspicious. I don't want that kid finding us again together," and left the closet room.

After glancing at his watch five minutes later, he too walked out of the closet and went to the prison/hostage area. Once he got there, he found that surprisingly, there was no one else in any of the other prison cells but Frank. And when he got up to where Piper and Frank was, he asked Frank why that was. "Even prisoners have duties to do too, you know. We were off doing them, but I guess I finished here first."

And that made sense. Back in his prison area, it was like that too. He would assign various prisoners to do random duties, with the supervision of a guard, of course. And it was better this way as well. This way, they could talk to Frank in peace without anybody interrupting. Though they had to do it quietly and not suspiciously, for there were still security cameras around.

So with that, they started exchanging what they found. Piper explaining her interactions with the man, and Jason showing them the paper from the cracks of the desk with the weird combination of numbers. After they were done, Frank seemed to be deep in thought. "So the man like...passed out after you gave him the object and he gave you the money?"

Piper nodded. Frank continued, still deep in thought, "So maybe that explains the liquid..."

"What liquid?" Jason asked immediately.

Frank's head snapped up and explained to them about what had happened with the guard incident and about how after he drank the liquid, he too collapsed. After he was done, Jason all of a sudden felt a little stupid just sharing with them a stupid piece of paper when they had found other proof about what was going on. How great was a combination of numbers that he had no idea what it led to, compared to legitimate proof about people being poisoned out of their money?

He didn't have any more time to self-pity though because their conversation was cut off by a loud blaring noise. It was a siren. They all turned their heads around the room to see what could have been causing that noise.

Immediately, prison guards came and Jason thought that someone had broken out of jail or something, so his feeling of alarm quickly died down. But it built up as quick as it had vanquished because the men came up to _them_ and said, their voice controlled, "You three delinquents. You're coming with us." And they grabbed them by the arms and hauled them out the door.

"What's going on? We didn't do anything," Piper stated, confused. And it was true, so far. They were allowed to be in the prison area, so long as they didn't try to help escape the prisoners. And that was far beyond what they were trying to do.

"You're being taken in for pretending to be something you are not."

Piper and Jason quickly looked at each other in alarm before quickly recovering themselves. So they had found out? How? "And why would you think that?"

"Because we got a call from one of our greater alliances. Midas. He said he knew you three, and he knew what you were up to. You should have been more careful, Mr. Grace," the guard said to Jason. He frowned. So they _definitely _knew, then.

And so that was the catch Midas had in mind. It wasn't to "watch them fail", which was probably one of the reasons, but it wasn't just that. Midas was allied with Medea for the longest of times, so _of course _he would help her. Jason wished he wasn't so oblivious.

"Where are you taking us?" Jason asked, more annoyed and curious than afraid.

"To see Medea. She wants to talk to you three."

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><p><strong>Okay, I've had serious writer's block writing this chapter. I really just wanted to get it over with. I already had in mind about what was going to happen, I just didn't know how to say it in words. So I just stopped it here. But this chapter was longer than what I usually write (which is around 2,000 words, but this chapter was almost 4,000 words), so I hoped that made it up.<strong>

**But next chapter will be a little more interesting, I can tell you that. This story is ending soon (if you haven't already noticed), and there'll be like two more chapters left. I already planned what I'm going to do in them, so it won't be sketchy like this one sort of was. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	19. Escaping

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

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><p>Piper had met a lot of intimidating people, and she was definitely one, she reluctantly had to admit. Medea was a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair and a black dress to match with diamonds that encrust the borders. She reminded her of a queen. One of the pretty-face ones that look like they could be so kind to you when you first meet them, but turn out to be a real ass once you get on their bad side. Right now, she was suspecting, that they were going to be seeing the ass-like side of her.<p>

They had only been standing there for about two minutes, not saying a word to the other, and Medea already looked like she was ready to kill them.

She couldn't blame her, though. After all, they had trespassed her factory, pretended that they were on her side, and were basically plotting to arrest her. Piper would have them dead if someone did that to her. Medea probably would have too, if she hadn't called them up to talk.

It had been a while before Medea had finally spoke. "I wasn't expecting this from you, Piper McLean. What are you doing hanging around with two wannabe heroes? I thought Jane would have set you right."

Piper frowned. She hated when the attention was diverted to her. Especially since she was the first to actually _get _attention from Medea. "Jane couldn't 'set me right' if her life depended on it. Only cowards like Jane would choose to hang out with thugs like you," she spat out.

Medea smiled a glittering smile and looked at Piper with a thoughtful expression that secretly scared the jujubes out of her. "Must I remind you that you were once a thug? And you still are. It's just hidden inside of you. Like how you helped your wonderful friends," she gestured to Jason and Frank next to Piper, "that was pretty smart of you. To disguise Jason like that, and offer Frank. You still have that side in you. You're just using it for the wrong purposes."

Piper shook her head. "You're getting nowhere with this conversation. I wouldn't work for you in a million years. Now what's the real reason you brought us here?"

"So eager, now are we?" she mock-frowned at Piper, "such a shame. You had so much potential. But if you insist on declining my offer to you, then that's what you'll get. I already know why you are here, so you can save the explanation. I don't need it. The only reason why I brought you three here is because you three have done something to me that no one has done all my life."

"And what's that?" Piper asked, still annoyed at the woman. She noticed Jason and Frank hadn't said anything since they were there, but she thought it was best that way. She knew for sure that Jason shouldn't open his mouth, and Frank was at least better than Jason, but it wasn't much. And Medea wasn't complaining, so Piper didn't have to worry.

Medea paused for a second, as if debating whether she should admit it or not before she finally told them, "You fooled me. And if Midas hadn't told me what you were up to, I might even have fell for it," then she smiled again, "I guess I made friends with the right people, did I not? Something you forgot to do."

Piper rolled her eyes. But before she could retort courageously back, Medea spoke again. "So for that, you three need to be punished for your deeds. For trespassing in my territory. I wish in the future, if you survive that is, you make more truthful decisions." She turned towards the guards that had carried them to Medea's office. "Take them away. You know where to put them."

While they were grabbing Piper, she managed to open her mouth one last time to speak to Medea. "You won't get away with this, you know. Even if we are locked up, we'll find a way to make you pay!"

She only smirked, "And how exactly do you plan on doing _that_ in a gas chamber?"

Piper opened her eyes wide before the doors slammed shut, the last thing she saw in the office was Medea, a triumphant smile on her face as if she already had won. And for all Piper knew, she probably had.

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><p>She hated being in that chamber. All crowded up in a corner, tied to the wall, not being able to do anything, and just watching the days pass by without you. Except this time, she basically only had a few hours to live before the gas opening above her would fill up and slowly begin to suffocate her. This reminded her of the Holocaust, and wondered if this was how the Jewish felt when they knew they were about to die in any second.<p>

Except being stuck with a bunch of random other Jewish people she didn't even know, she was stuck with only Jason and Frank, so it only made her slightly less claustrophobic.

She remembered when Jason was telling them about once they had gotten enough information, they could just call Percy or somebody to help them. He didn't say how they were going to do that when they were tied up, and Jason couldn't reach his phone in his pocket.

But either way, that gave her an idea. Jason was a few feet away from her, and if Piper arched her back just enough, she could be able to reach his phone in his pocket with her teeth. But then what? Even if she _was_ able to get a good grip on the phone in her mouth, how would she be able to dial the number? She could use her toes but she could barely even feel them from standing so much, let alone move them.

But she figured she had no choice. She looked around her to Frank and Jason and noticed that they still had a gag wrapped tight in their mouths. Piper had one too, but being already used to gags, she learned how to spit them out. It took a long time to learn, but she got the hang of it. She looked at Jason sheepishly, "Um, Jason?"

He looked at her and Piper continued, "Uh, can I like...borrow your phone?" He rolled his eyes and then widened them as if to say, _Stupid! I'm tied up! Can't you notice that?_

Piper shook her head and then reached her head over to reach Jason's pants. The ropes were pulling really tight against her stomach and chest, and she was trying her best to not scream out. Frank sent a look from across the chamber, and Piper suddenly thought how weird it looked, reaching over to grab Jason's belt with her teeth.

Jason shook his head wildly, and Piper shot him another sheepish smile. "Oh, shut up. The more you guys stop looking at me like that, the more I'll be able to reach your phone and get us out of here."

They finally stopped, but Jason was still glancing at her awkwardly before looking away quickly, and Frank, even though he was wearing a gag, looked like he was trying not to laugh. After plenty of attempts of grabbing Jason's phone from his pocket, she finally got it between her teeth. She pulled it out, and dropped it on the floor, landing with a loud _clunk_. Jason rolled his eyes, and Piper had a feeling that if she broke his phone while attempting to call someone with it, he would make her pay.

Keeping that silent threat in mind, she flipped over the phone with her foot and unlocked it. Now realizing just how hard this was, she just dialed the first number that came up in the _Recent Calls _button. She tapped the speaker button and on three rings, the person finally picked up. "Hello?" It was Percy. "Jason? Where have you been? I have been trying to call you forever, but you're not picking up! Are you in trouble?"

"Um...it's not Jason. But he's with me right now. And yes, we need you right now."

It was silent before Percy finally answered. "Piper? You're supposed to be in jail. Why are you with Jason?"

"Listen, we don't have much time..." then Piper explained why exactly they left and how they got in the chamber.

"...How do I know you're not lying? I know what you did, Piper. If you lied before, you can lie again. Let Jason talk."

"I already told you. He's tied up and gagged and so is Frank. They can't do anything."

"How come you're not gagged?"

"Because I spit it out awhile ago."

"Yeah, sure."

"Look, why would I be calling you if we weren't in trouble?"

"Because you could be leading me to a trap."

"Well, I'm not!"

Silence again. Then, "Jason would have told me where he was going before he left off. He would have sent me a warning."

"It was a short notice! We had to go."

"Yeah, whatever. Good bye, Piper," and the line went dead.

Piper looked up at Jason and Frank again, but looked quickly down, too ashamed to see what their expressions were. Now she felt really bad. She was the one who had led them there, even if Midas was the one who told Medea about them. But still...she felt like if she had been more prepared with this, she could have been able to avoid the situation. And now, she couldn't even convince one of her used-to-be friends to help them out, all because of the crimes she had done.

Being a thief had many disadvantages. Money, you could get anywhere. People like Jason and Frank and Percy and the rest of them, worked their butt off to get what they had. Stealing was about a hundred times more easier than actually working for it, but she suddenly felt like a coward for getting the easy way out. And not just money. Being a thief also gave you enemies with all the wrong people. She didn't want to hate Jason, Frank, or Percy, and she didn't want them to hate her.

But after what had just happened, it was obvious that they did. She just wished her brain would think clearly enough, so they could get out of there before the gas comes before.

"Mmmph," Piper heard Jason say. "Mmmph." Piper looked at him with a confused face before he glanced down at his gag, and she finally understood.

So she reached forward again, this time reaching for his face, only stopping when her teeth met with his solid gag. And she yanked it out. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

Jason coughed and spit out the remaining lint and after a few seconds of more coughing, he turned to Piper again. "Oh, thank God! You really need to teach me how to spit that out."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Now, how are we going to get out of here? I'm not really in the mood of suffocating until I die."

Jason grunted and shook his body. Piper widened her eyes. "Um, what are you doing?" Was he going insane?

"Shut up," and then he kept on shaking. Finally, a shard of glass came out of his front pocket and landed on the floor, sliding towards Frank.

"Why didn't you tell me that before? I could have gotten it."

"And cut your tongue off while grabbing it? I don't think so."

Frank grabbed the glass and put it between his toes and lifted it until it reached his tied-up hands. He then pulled it against his ropes and after harshly rubbing it, so that his wrists were now drawing out blood, they were finally free. He then proceeded to cut the ropes around his chest and soon, that fell out as well. He pulled out his gag with his hand and shouted, "Yes! I've still got it!"

"Yeah, yeah, just help us out, will ya?" Jason asked, irritable.

Frank helped Jason out and soon, he helped Piper. Once they were out of their ropes, Piper walked straight up to the door. "Now, how are we going to get out of here?" Frank asked.

"I have no idea," Jason said, picking up his phone and looking at Piper's slobber coated on half of the device. "Lovely," he muttered sarcastically while wiping it off with his shirt and putting it back in his pocket.

Piper shrugged. "I can pick the lock."

"If it was so easy, then why didn't other people do just that?"

"Because others were tied up, Jason. And they were alone. If you haven't noticed, we're not." And then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a toothpick. After about five minutes of tampering with the lock, she grunted. "Ugh, it won't work," she looked around the room and her eyes stopped at the glass, "hand me that."

Frank walked over to the glass and gave it to Piper. She stuck it into the lock again, and after another long while, the door swung open.

She sighed in relief. _Sorry, Medea, but you messed with the wrong people._

And then they were out.

They were running for a while, looking in both directions to see if they were being followed, but so far so good. But then they heard the crumbling, and that was when Piper figured out why the building was so eerily quiet. No minor worker or maybe even some major ones, were in the building. Medea had evacuated all of them.

So that meant whatever that crumbling noise was coming from, it was meant for them. And it was coming from right behind them. "Run!" Jason exclaimed, probably figuring this out as well.

And then they sprinted towards the exit as the crumbling only got louder. They were almost twenty feet away from the exit when Jason fell down. "What the hell, Jason? Get up!" Piper screamed.

"Don't you think I would if I could?"

Piper's eyes widened in realization. She looked from behind Jason and noticed that his foot was stuck in between a desk and a bookcase. She looked around the hallway and it was then that she noticed that everything was toppled over. It was as if the factory threw up in itself. It was a miracle that Frank and Piper hadn't trampled over anything.

Then there was another noise. This time it was coming from in front of them. Blocking the exit. "Go!" Piper shouted to Frank over the din. "Run outside, now!"

"What? No! You said three go in and three go out. The same three. And _together_. I'm not leaving you guys." Frank shouted back.

"And I'm sticking to that. Go outside and wait for us there. And if Medea catches you, distract her until we come out. And we _will _come out."

"Ugh, you two are hopeless! Just...both of you two leave!" Jason shouted to them.

"Then who will help you?"

"I'll be fine."

"You're insane if you think I'm going to leave you here!" Piper shouted. They were stopped shortly with their argument when another crumble, this time louder and coming from in front of them and behind them, filled the space. "Go, Frank!"

This time, he didn't hesitate. He reached to the door and before he disappeared behind it, he yelled, "I'll see you two outside!" And then the fallen building pieces covered up the only exit they could reach.

She turned her back from it towards Jason and then she yelped. Because standing behind Jason, was nothing. Absolutely nothing. They were on the twenty-seventh floor of the building and _everything _had crashed, so now it looked like an enormous cliff. Except without the jagged rocks, that is. But now it was just a straight drop. And just looking at it, made Piper sick. She always had a thing against heights.

Jason grunted again, and Piper quickly snapped back into reality. She reached over and pulled the bookcase off of Jason and helped his foot out. "Is it alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's fine." And he wiggled his foot to show her so. He finally stood up and leaned against the wall, catching his breath along with Piper. "Why did you stay behind?"

Piper looked at him, surprised by the statement. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you could have just left me."

She raised her eyebrows. "You expected me to just...leave you? You could have died."

He shrugged. "Well, you didn't leave me. And yeah, I was sort of expecting you to. And I wasn't going to _die_. You're over-exaggerating it."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever," she looked back at him to see him watching her intently again. She sucked in a breath and she felt her voice soften, which was something she never thought would ever happen. "I helped you because I need you. We all need you, Jason. I don't know what we'd do in our lives if you were gone."

He stared at her for a while, as if processing that, and quickly looked away and cleared his throat. "Right. Well, let's figure out a way to get out of here."

She looked away too, now realizing why she had missed Frank being around them. Because it made things slightly less awkward between the two of them. And now that he wasn't there...well, she didn't know _how _she was supposed to react around Jason.

Piper and Jason continued to look around and see if there were any other exits, but they couldn't find any. It was basically hopeless. The exit was blocked off, and the only way to get out of there, was to go down the cliff. Which was _not _what she was going to do anytime soon. But apparently Jason had other ideas because he found a couple of extremely long ropes in the midst of all the furniture sprawled across the floor and held it up for her to see. He smiled triumphantly and said, "I just found our way out of here."

She frowned, "If it has anything to do with jumping off of that cliff thing, I don't want any part of it."

"Chill, it will be fine," he said, already tying himself up and tying the other end to the furniture behind them. "This furniture will hold the rope still." And he walked up to her and tied it around her body tightly until she felt like she could hardly breathe. "Alright, then. Let's jump."

"What? No! No way am I going to jump off of here!" She exclaimed while backing up. The drop was way longer than what she previously thought, now that she actually _had _to jump off. She couldn't even see the bottom of it. There was just _no way _that she was going to jump off. A million things could happen. The rope could get cut off because of the pressure and then they could fall to their deaths. So many possibilities...she suddenly felt like throwing up.

Jason finally noticed her so pale face that it looked like the color white would be jealous, and surprisingly reached over and squeezed her hand. She looked back up at him to notice that he was smiling at her. "What? Don't mock me," then she looked back at the cliff, "I'm not jumping off. I told you."

Jason frowned, "Look, I promise it won't be that bad. It'll be over soon before you know it. I promise."

She closed her eyes and shook her head so much that she felt like it was going to pop off. "No. I can't do it. I'm terri-" She was cut off as she felt something rough crash onto her mouth. She shot her eyes open and widened them even more when she realized that Jason's face was pressing against hers. And _kissing _her. She had no idea what was going on.

And she didn't know why she was suddenly closing her eyes and reaching forward as well. And _kissing him back_. He wrapped his arms around her waist like he had done countless times at the end of their first date, in the car, and Piper knotted her fingers around his neck and into his hair. She had no idea what was going on and why he was making her feel this way and why he was _doing _it, but she didn't care. She just let herself feel it.

"I trust you, Piper. You could have left me and gone with Frank, but you didn't. You stayed with me. So I'm going to stay with you," he said after he pulled away, his arms and hands still wrapped around her, his forehead pressed against hers and eyes trained on hers. "Do you trust me?"

Piper still felt like she was in some sort of daze, because she couldn't find it in her to reply back. She just nodded, still speechless, and closed her eyes again.

And then they fell together.

Piper dug her face into Jason's chest as she felt the long drop in her stomach, the wind that wasn't there a second ago, suddenly whistling around them. She felt like her ears were going to pop off. She didn't say a word, though, because she thought that if she did, she just might lose her voice by the air that was sprinting past them.

Jason cut the rope off once they halted about five feet above the floor and they landed in a heap onto the first floor. She laughed as she crawled off of him and stated, "Well, that was fun."

Jason rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. And so was she, even though they were still in the factory and anything bad could happen to them from that moment onward. But she didn't care anymore. Because now, she was with _him_.

Once they had gotten outside, Medea was nowhere to be seen and neither was her men, but they decided they would deal with that later. After all, they had gotten what they needed, and Piper and Frank made sure that they brought their evidences with them to show to the court. And hopefully, while they were there, she could convince the court that she really was sorry for what she had done and she was somewhat innocent. It was a long shot, but she would definitely try.

And about the paper that Jason pointed out to her and Frank? Well, she still had no idea what that was meant for, but she still thought it was for something important. And they would find out for sure. And they still needed to find Medea, but they had enough information for the cops so it wasn't a big deal.

Those were only some of her goals. Another one was that she needed to make the other cops trust her again. She really did miss them, and she hoped they would forgive her. And it hurt her to think that they may not.

But after all, Jason had. And she thought it had been impossible for him to do so. But it wasn't. And she couldn't have been happier for that it turned out like that. Fate had a funny way of doing things, but it brought even Jason and Piper back together again, so she figured fate couldn't be all that bad.

"So...now what?" Frank asked them, once they got to him. His eyes trailed down to Jason and Piper's entwined fingers, gripping the other's hand like they were too afraid to let go, and he raised his eyebrows. "What the hell _happened _in there? One minute you're yelling at each other and the other you're...ugh, I'll never understand you two." And they started walking towards the factory gates.

"You didn't answer my question before. What do we do now?" Frank asked Piper again. She smiled.

"Now..." The answer to that was simple enough. "We get to go home."

* * *

><p><strong>Pretty much. Now the only thing that's left is the epilogue. So yeah. And I know the ending was a little weird and stuff, with Medea gone missing, but there'll be more to that in the epilogue. And no, there will NOT be a sequel to answer a PM. Y'all know I'm too lazy to put up a sequel if not needed to xD<strong>

**And...JASPER! You see how I put that cliff scene there *wiggles eyebrows* seem familiar? Except...you know. With a couple of differences. But yeah. I hope you're happy, 'cause I sure am. And there'll still be more Jasper in the epilogue, so...stay tuned for that!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	20. Epilogue

**A/N: This is the longest chapter I have ever written and (obviously) happens to be the epilogue. Prepare for some Jasper fluff in the end! Hope you enjoy! Review, please!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson characters at all.**

* * *

><p>Once they had arrived back safely and they did a quick trial on Midas and Lit, Jason's friends were the first to come up to them and hear what they had to say. They refused to talk in front of Piper though, but that was understandable, since they still didn't know that she could be trusted. "Jason? You're back. Where were you?" Leo asked Jason as soon as they entered the room.<p>

"It's a long story," he replied back, just glad to see his friends there.

"We have thirty minutes until the trial with the information you have, so spill. You left without a warning. You worried us. So you owe us an explanation," Dakota said sternly, not taking no for an answer.

Jason sighed, but explained what had happened since Piper escaped from jail. He was confused about that too. Even if they_ had_ gotten the information they needed out of Medea, none of that would matter if they couldn't find the culprit who actually_ did_ the crime. And they only knew two places where she would be. Midas's mansion (they already checked there on the way back, and they brought Lit and Midas back for questioning, and after showing the others and the court about it, Midas and Lit were sent to jail) and Medea's factory.

They couldn't go back to Medea's factory now and even if they could, they couldn't get inside the gates anymore. They didn't have the key to get in. And even if they had _that_, there was no telling if Medea was still in the factory. She could be anywhere by now. And then Jason remembered the tracking device. Oh God...how could he have been so stupid? The tracking device wasn't meant for finding the _factory_, it was meant for finding _Medea_. He remembered that because when he was rummaging around with the gold tubes and such, he remembered seeing a blue dot that was pointing towards the factory. The blue dot was meant for Medea._  
><em>

So even though Medea claimed to be 'friends' with Midas, that was not the case. They obviously still had their trust issues with each other. But after all, what villain didn't? One sold gold that was highly illegal in many ways, and one poisoned people out of their money. They were a perfect match. And he told his friends about his thoughts about the tracking device as well, and he was proud of himself for finally getting a hint about where Medea might be.

"So what you're saying is...Piper was right all along? So when she called me the other day, she really was in that gas chamber? With you guys?" Percy asked guiltily.

Jason nodded his head once, and Percy looked down at the floor. He couldn't blame him; if Jason was in Percy's position, he wouldn't have believed Piper either. But that was before. Now he found it utterly stupid to not trust her after all she had done for them.

"Wait, she called you? And you didn't even tell us?" Tyson, Percy's step-brother, asked. It was obvious he felt hurt by this because over the past years, they were closer to each other than what you'd expect from step-brothers.

Percy looked at Tyson and gave him a sad smile. "Sorry, man. I didn't think it would be important. I didn't trust her, so I thought she was lying. I didn't think what she was saying would be worth telling anybody," he turned to Jason, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Jason smiled back at him. "It's cool. Just...take it easy on Piper, alright? She knows you guys didn't trust her, but she still took it pretty hard when you ignored her like that in the chamber. Her trial's today as well along with the whole Medea thing, so I don't know how she's going to convince the court to take her out of jail for good, but I'm suspecting that she'll try."

"So I take it you two are back together again?" Leo smirked at him.

Jason did his best poker face he could come up with and replied tartly, "That's none of your business."

It never worked on Leo, and Jason didn't expect it to work now. Leo cracked a huge smile and literally laughed out loud. "Ha! I knew it! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist her! Even if I didn't trust her before and you didn't either, I _still _knew you would make a move!"

Jason rolled his eyes while everyone else chuckled along with Leo, but his smile didn't leave the entire time.

* * *

><p>The trial was way shorter than what Jason expected. It was an open trial, so everyone in the court could express what they were thinking openly. It was a weird way of doing things, but Jason supposed they didn't really have a choice. He just wanted to get this over with.<p>

Frank explained what had happened with the prison guard and the liquid, and when they stated that they needed proof, he dumped some of the liquid in a nearby plant, and the entire court watched as the plant shriveled agonizingly slowly and crumpled to black pieces. Piper continued to explain the rest of the story, but that's when she had gotten interrupted with one of the people sitting in the courtroom. "And why should we listen to somebody who had robbed our house the other day? I still have to make that money up, even though that incident happened months ago!" the woman complained.

Piper frowned noticeably, but before she should reply back, more people started to bring up their complaints about her. "Yeah! I've heard of her all over the news for nearly a year! Me and my family were terrified after all the crimes she had done! Don't just let her go after all of that!" one person said, while others cheered in agreement.

Jason felt like slapping all of them. They didn't even know the whole story! How dare they judge her like that when she was in the middle of explaining it? Before he could step up and back Piper up, he was cut off when someone shouted, "And why hadn't she called the cops, if she had been so _noble_? She could have at least _told _somebody where she was at. Obviously she wanted to keep whatever she was doing a secret."

Okay, _now _Jason was getting extremely mad. Not only did they refuse to listen to what Piper had to say, they were so ignorant enough that they started blaming stuff on Piper for what they assumed she didn't do, even though she had. It wasn't her fault that no one had believed her when she tried to tell somebody. He was already halfway out of his chair to give a good yelling to that person who shouted that, when another voice, one that he was too familiar with, spoke first.

"She _did _call. She called while they were doing the mission to save your sorry asses," Jason didn't even have to turn around to see who that was, for there was only one person who would dare speak up and say foul words in public like that in a court. He smiled as he turned around, and Percy continued, "If you guys actually chose to _listen _to what she had to say instead of waving it off, due to not trusting her for the crimes she had done in the _past_, you would have been smart enough to hear what she was saying." Percy gave a look at Piper, and Jason finally realized that Percy was actually indirectly asking for Piper's forgiveness, while standing up for her like that._  
><em>

Piper gave a grateful smile back at Percy, signaling that he was forgiven. Percy continued again, "I'll show you the phone call to prove it." And he walked straight up to the judge and pulled out his phone. He couldn't see what was going on from the angle he was sitting in, but he suspected that he was showing the judge the _Recent Calls _in which should show the time that Piper had called him.

It turned out that, when Piper was talking to him, Percy bugged the phone call. Of course, he had done that when he wasn't trusting Piper and kept it with him for blackmail purposes, but now it wasn't the case. The phone call had possibly saved Piper's life.

And before you'd know it, the rest of the cops started to back Piper up as well, and Jason showed the judge the gold test tubes and the other proof from Midas's mansion they had picked up the second time they were at his house. "Alright, alright, everybody calm down. Just because this is an open trial, does not mean that you can randomly spout out information uncontrollably at unreasonable times. Things need to come organizationally for things to make sense."

Jason rolled his eyes. So he could interrupt when people were backing up Piper? That was completely unfair. Even for a judge, that was pretty judgmental of him. The judge continued, "Even if you are right about this, where is Medea now? How will we be able to find her, now that that the building was crumbling as you said? There is no way to find out."

"I might have a way," Jason spoke up. The judge gave him a brief annoyed look. It was obvious how much he wanted to put Piper in jail and keep her there. But Jason was having way too much fun with this to let the judge be. "I still have the tracking device. I can use it to find where Medea is right now." And he brought it up to the judge.

He did another test with the gold tubes, but since now he had even more evidence from Medea, it was a lot more faster finding her than before. And when he did, Jason mentally winced. The judge smirked, "Like I told you. You told me the building was crumbling. Either that device over there isn't working, or you three are lying about the crumbling."

Jason frowned, "I told you, the building _was_ crumbling. I don't know what happened. Maybe it was crumbling only around us, so she could get us killed for escaping so easily. I don't know. But I do know that it _was _crumbling. And when we had gotten outside, the building still remained intact and it seemed as if nothing had changed about it. Maybe only the inside from where we were standing."

The judge raised his eyebrow. "Oh? And how can you be so sure?" Piper, from across the room, furrowed her eyebrows together as well, seemingly asking the same question as the judge.

Jason sighed. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there? We have to go see for ourselves."

* * *

><p>And there they were again. They had taken the helicopter this time, and they personally flew with the judge since he wanted so badly to see this for himself. To prove them wrong. There were other helicopters behind Jason, filled with loads of armed policemen, just waiting to arrest whoever was in the factory. They themselves were curious as to what could possibly be waiting for them in the factory, and Jason was just hoping that he was right all along about this.<p>

But even if the factory was intact like he said, how the _hell _were they supposed to get inside the gates? He didn't have the key, or the pass-code thing, or any _idea _what they needed to get in. He was completely clueless. The only thing that he absolutely knew for sure, was that Medea was still inside that factory, and she was still playing that big scam of hers. He just knew he needed to stop it.

And he knew that if he failed and couldn't even get in, Piper would be sent back into jail, and there was no point in escaping. Jason knew that Piper would be too weighed down with unnecessary guilt, even though it wasn't her fault, to even _think _about escaping. And he would never see her again. Well, not like that. He would be the hopeless cop that had fallen in love with one of his very prisoners for the rest of his life. He didn't think he could handle it. No, he _knew _he couldn't handle it. A life without Piper is not a happy life at all, he had come to realize over the past few weeks he was with her on the mission.

But that just made him even more nervous. He could not, _could not_, fail her now.

And then they arrived at the factory within a couple of hours. And it turned out that the factory in fact, _indeed_ remain intact. And judging by the people that were once again walking by the factory, it was obvious that they had no idea that something had happened to it a few nights ago. He sighed in relief that at least _some _of what he had told the judge was right. He just hoped that the rest was correct as well.

So he hopped off the helicopter and took small dreadful steps towards the gates. "Hey, are you alright?" Leo asked him, patting him on the back.

Jason shook his head (it was pointless to deny it in front of Leo; he didn't even have to ask the question to know that something was wrong) and replied simply, "Nope."

"You have no idea how to enter the factory, do you?"

"Nope."

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out."

"You really believe that?" Jason asked, surprised.

"Nope." Jason chuckled when he said that, but Leo continued, "but I'm gonna be here for you either way. You remember the Bro Code we made when we were little, right?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "How can I forget?" He asked. The Bro Code was something they had made up when they were around nine years old. It was immature of them, but they thought it was funny enough to keep, so they made fun of it from time to time. "Rule number twelve, wasn't it? 'Never leave the other bro behind, no matter how much you would want to'," he said, reminiscing about how stupid that sounded now that they were older and more mature. He didn't need some silly rule to remind him what to do. He'd never leave Leo behind for anything. They'd been best friends forever, and they would always remain that way.

Leo laughed. "Yep. I'm still sticking to that. Don't you forget it, Sparky."

"Sparky?" Jason asked, "you've been spending way too much time with Piper. I'm surprised you still remember that."

Leo shrugged. "I remember a lot of things, Jason. So much that you should probably be worried."

Jason laughed at his teasing threat. "I'll remember that." But his smile quickly dissipated once they stopped right in front of the gates. Oh, shit. Now what was he supposed to do?

The judge was watching him sternly, as if expecting him to fail, but that surprisingly made him a little more confident. So Jason put on his poker face once again, and he marched right up to the gates. He looked around to see if there was anything that looked familiar. Nothing.

Nothing except a big dial that was right next to the gates, that is. He figured that that was the only thing that opened the gates. He had seen Nico use it one time, when they had to go get supplies for Medea, but he hadn't seen what Nico was putting in the dial. Nico had been there for the longest of times, so it was obvious that Medea had entrusted him with the pass-code to get in.

He walked closer to it to examine it. It was a three-numbered combination that was needed to go inside. "And I don't suppose that Medea trusted you enough to hand you _that_, now did she?" The judge asked him smartly.

Jason frowned, but he chose to ignore the judge. There was something racking his brain in the back of his head. If only he knew...he remembered when Nico was telling him to go dust off that desk that very day he had found that sheet of paper. It was like...Nico _intended_ for Jason to find it. But why? And then it hit him. Over the past few weeks, he had gotten rather close to Nico. Nico wasn't stupid. Most of the time. But he definitely knew when something was up.

Jason didn't know how, but Nico knew that he was in trouble. And it honestly may have been a coincidence that he had found the paper, and he may just be over-thinking it, but he knew that couldn't be it. Nico could have dusted off that table if he wanted to. He would have recognized the knife-like cracks in the desk. Or maybe _he _was the one who made the cracks jagged like that. He'd seen the way he could handle a knife. He could break through anything.

Jason didn't know how, but he just _knew _that Nico wanted him to have the paper.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out the sheet of paper and spread it out so he could see the numbers. Yes. It was _completely _Nico's handwriting. The sloppy, rough outlines of the numbers glared at him in the bright sunlight, as if urging him to understand.

And after a long while of comprehending his thoughts and finally having the courage to reach over to touch the large dial and swing in the numbers, _10, 34, 10_, the gates swung open. Jason felt a smug smile appear on his face as he watched the shocked but slightly perturbed face on the judge and the proud smirk on Leo's face.

"I knew that would come in handy," he said out loud, patting his crumpled piece of paper gratefully, and he led the policemen and the guards inside to _finally _arrest Medea and her faithful men.

* * *

><p>"You look different."<p>

"How so?" Jason asked as he entered Piper's room in her house and sat next to her on the bed later in the evening. After Jason had led them inside the factory (even the inside remained intact, though there was a caution sign near the end of one of the hallways, and he had a hinting suspicion of where that led to), he had thought it was best for the other policemen to wait outside of her office as he handled this on his own for now. They reluctantly agreed (the judge hurriedly) and Jason had talked to Medea. At first, she seemed confident and it was obvious that she knew that she was going to win in the end, but when she was so confident in herself that Jason thought her ego just might explode, the cops came in at just the right time and surrounded her.

She was immediately taken away for jail, and Jason made sure her sentence would be for an incredibly long time. He wasn't even sure if she would live by the time she would get out. As for Nico, Jason made sure that he be kept out of jail so long as he didn't commit another crime, and he used the excuse that Nico helped him find the combination of numbers to open the gates. After a lot of persuading with the judge and the rest of the court, Nico was released. So was Piper, much to the judge's unhappiness.

They took Medea with them along with some of her closer men, so Jason and the rest of the cops could make _sure_ that Medea was in their eyesight at all times so she couldn't pull something behind their backs. The ones that were minor but still did some crimes, were to be kept at the factory. From now on, they would continue doing their duties, but they would be working for the cops instead. The factory would now be a new prison.

After they were done and had settled down back in their city in Jason's headquarters, he had told Piper and Frank and the rest who were absent about the news. Later on, he confronted Frank and, remembering all the good Frank had done to him even though they had a rough relationship before, he asked if Frank would like to be promoted and work with him, as a cop. Frank gladly accepted, but said that only after he fixed things with his wife, Hazel. Jason said that he understood and thanked Frank one last time.

And now, Jason was at Piper's house, finally getting to spend some time with her like he wanted to do since they had gotten back from the mission. He never had gotten the chance because of all the tension to rest the case, but now that the case was finally done, he didn't have anything distracting him anymore.

"Oh, I don't know. You look more...relaxed and more happy. I don't think I've ever seen you like this. You look more...free," she paused, "not to mention that your dye had washed out and your contacts are out. The concealer's gone too, but that would make sense since we came back a few nights ago."

Jason smiled like he always did recently whenever he was around her. "Do I look bad or something?"

"No, I think you look better this way," she laughed, and Jason couldn't help but notice that her eyes twinkled a little whenever she did that. "I was tired of kissing a guy that looked like Percy. Too awkward. It's much more easier to look at you this way."

He chuckled along with her for a while before they fell into a comfortable silence. Things just felt so...right, now. He didn't have to worry about anything. And he never felt like this before. He was always so tense around people. Like he could spring any moment. What had this girl done to him? "Can you believe that it's finally done?" Piper asked, voicing his thoughts exactly.

She was saying it more to herself than him, but he answered anyway. "No," he said truthfully, "I don't. But I'm willing to at least try to if you are."

She turned to him and gave him a large smile, and Jason thought that he just might be blinded if he kept staring at it. But it was just so alluring, that he didn't even care. "I'll take you up on that offer, Sparky," she said. And then he leaned in, unable to take it anymore, and she copied him as if feeling the same desire.

When their lips connected once more, there was only one thought in Jason's mind before he let himself let go: _Damn_. Kissing Piper was completely different than kissing other women. He didn't feel anything with the others, just normal teenager lust, but with Piper...well, 'damn' was right.

There were so many emotions that were spinning through his head. Lust was the last thing on his mind when he was with her, but it was still a big part of it. But love was the one that he had been missing with the other women. He had been missing love, and Piper had given it to him so easily just like that. So he kissed her more for it.

He was freaking and madly in love with this little thief that had accompanied him on the mission. He always had been, he'd just been too afraid to admit it.

All too soon, Piper pulled away, and Jason could already feel the hollow, cold, empty feeling on his lips and chest, where her hands were. But he didn't want to waste another second keeping his thoughts to himself any longer. "I love you, Pipes," the words spilled out of his mouth before he could catch them, but it was too late. They already fell.

And the only thing more agonizing than that, was waiting for Piper to reply back. Her face was painfully emotionless for a second before a grin cracked on her face, and Jason sighed in relief and felt a smile of his own appear on his face. "I love you too, you dimwit," she told him teasingly before grabbing the collar of his shirt and knocked him down onto the bed, so that his feet were facing towards the pillows.

Their lips crashed together again, except this time, it was more passionate and desperate. Their hands went roaming again, trying to reach every single inch of the other's body as if they were running out of time. Piper's legs had somehow found its way around his waist once again, and her body was pressed against his while Jason was trying to reach every single curve he could find in her body, desperate to touch everything he had adored of her since he had met her.

Piper's hands had found its way underneath Jason's shirt and her hands continued to trail his abdomen, making him moan out loud as the fire roared once again in his stomach like it always did when she touched him like that. He couldn't even explain how she was making him feel anymore. It was way too much for him to handle. Yet, he still let her do it because he couldn't pretend that he didn't enjoy it. He just couldn't describe how much he was glad that he could trust her again.

Kissing her like that made him think of how they had first met. If someone had told him one year ago that he would hate the criminal that he'd been searching for so long, and then happen to fall deeply in love with, he would have laughed and smacked the person in the face, claiming that the person was insane and should be checked out by a therapist. Of course, now things were different.

And they'd been through a lot. Both in the past and what had happened over the past few weeks. It had been frustrating dealing with her at times, and before, he really did wish that he never would have to see her again. But that was only because it was too painful. He felt too hurt to think clearly when he was around Piper, and he was too focused on the mission to pay much attention to how much he felt about her.

Thinking about that only made him pull Piper closer to him, if that was even possible. He flipped them over so now that he was on top of her and continued touching her like he had always wanted to, the desperation filling him up even more and clouding his mind so his entire brain shut down with longing and love.

And even though they had a rough past and spent most of the year hating each other while worrying about the mission all the same, he couldn't pretend that he was not glad that things worked out the way they did.

For all they'd been through, she was worth every single bit of it.

~_The End_~

* * *

><p><strong>Wow. I can't believe I finished it. WHOOP! FINALLY! And I guess I could have put a little more Jasper fluff in the end, but if I kept writing it, I might be slightly overstepping my boundaries of a nice rated T story. So I stopped. But let's just say...they finished what had been interrupted on their first date, in the car. Hehe. TMI, much?<strong>

**But wait. I have news for you guys. Okay, so I've actually been reconsidering the idea of having a sequel. I'm really not sure if I'm going to do it, but I'm going to think about it. I don't know. But if I do, then it's going to be a prequel and it's going to be about Percy and Annabeth, and about how they got together. Piper isn't going to be in it (I don't think so) because this happened before they even met, but Jason might be. So there isn't really going to be any Jasper in it. Maybe a few mentions about Jason finding a girl and failing because, well, he didn't meet Piper yet, but that's about it.**

**It would be my first time writing Percabeth in a multi-chap story, so cut me _some_ slack if I do anything wrong. I'm not as familiar with that couple as I am with Jasper because Jasper came more recently and I have more experience writing them, so it might be a little harder for me to write Percabeth. But I'm going to try. That is, if I do plan on doing a prequel. No promises!**

**And I would like to thank everyone. To all the haters, to the people who actually liked this story. I really did try my best in this, and I hoped I did it right. So thank you. Thanks to all those who reviewed, favorited, followed, or even just read this. I love you guys!**

**Till next time,**

**Penguin**


	21. Author's Note: MUST READ

**A/N: Prequel is now up! If you have been sticking with me throughout this story, I would appreciate for you to stick with me in the next! ****It is called, "Thieves and Shields" and it's on my profile.**

**Hope you like it and review!**

**-Penguin**


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